


Baby, Do You Have a Map? Because I Got Lost in Your Eyes

by celerydragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 11:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11312232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celerydragon/pseuds/celerydragon
Summary: Jongin, an adventurous scout, is blown off-course by a huge storm. Desperate to find land, he picks a direction and flies.This was written for monsterfest 2016.  One of the probably many fics I have/will write that need a map to go with them lmao





	1. Chapter 1

  
Everything is black.  
  
Lightning, followed by thunder loud enough to deafen, illuminates the ocean for just a moment, allowing Jongin a brief glimpse of the rain buffeting him from all directions. He tastes salt- the waves so high that even way up here the saline spray reaches him. He’s never been in a storm this bad.  
  
The vicious wind tosses them this way and that, like a child with a toy, turning both him and his dragon, Feiwol, upside down. Jongin lies low over his dragon, trying to help him fly as best he can amidst the panic, but it’s not making much difference.  
  
“Easy! Easy, Feiwol!” He screams, trying to calm the dragon down, despite the fear roiling in his own stomach.  
  
They’ve been blown way of course; neither of them know which way they came from or which way they were going. Jongin’s goggles are doing very little to block out the cold raindrops; he can hardly see beyond his own nose, the rain is coming down so heavy. Or is it coming from the side? It’s so _cold_ , Jongin’s fingers are struggling to keep a good grip on the slippery saddle.  
  
It was stupid of him to ignore those black clouds, he knows that. He can only hope that they make it out of this alive.  
  
“C’mon, Feiwol, we can do this!” He yells, fighting to be heard over the swirling maelstrom. His dragon, a sleek serpentine, eastern dragon, roars in acknowledgment. Even that can barely be heard beyond the howling winds.  
  
“Hang in there, Feiwol!”  
  
A wave taller than a house comes out of nowhere, slamming into them and sending them spiralling into a dark abyss of icy water. Jongin almost lets go of Feiwol, then, and if Feiwol weren’t such a fantastic swimmer, he would have been a goner.  
  
Fighting against the churning water, and the wind swirling around them, they claw their way back out of the ocean and struggle to stay aloft. Placing all of his trust in his dragon, Jongin grasps the saddle with everything he’s got.  
  
Jongin clings onto Feiwol’s back for what feels like days, though it could only have been hours. By the time the clouds overhead start to move on and the wind calms a little, Jongin is falling asleep, weary to the bone. Feiwol is faring no better; he is a glider dragon and his wings are not meant for such turbulent weather.  
  
Drained and exhausted, Feiwol settles onto the rough waters below, floating easily, to rest for a while. Neither of them care that it’s still raining- anything is better than the storm.  
  
This was only meant to be a routine excursion. As a scout, Jongin is supposed to fly out regularly to find new islands, or even countries. He had come prepared, with a few days’ worth of provisions, but he was hit by a monstrous storm on his way home, after finding nothing to report back with. The Mapmakers Guild paid scouts to do this, but there was always a bonus for finding something new to put on the main map, even if it was just a rock that stuck out of the water.  
  
He had seen the storm creeping in from the north-west behind him, but had foolishly thought that he and Feiwol could out-race it and be back home safely by the time it approached land. He should have known better; there was no way a man on a dragon could ever be faster than mother nature herself.  
  
“We did it, Feiwol!” Jongin whispers, his voice hoarse after screaming encouragement and instructions for so long. He strokes Feiwol’s head, proud of him for holding out for as long as he did, “We’re still alive.”  
  
Jongin pats his waist, looking for the compass attached to his belt, but only finds the cannister with his map inside. His compass is missing, the one given by the map makers when he joined the Riders’ League. It must have fallen out during the storm. When he returns, he will have to ask for a new one. And a new hat, too, but he’ll have to buy that for himself.  
  
He looks up, searching for any landmarks, anything that could help him get his bearings. There’s nothing to see for miles and miles, just endless, unforgiving ocean. To make matters worse, the sun has risen; even if the rain clouds weren't blocking his view he wouldn’t able to see the stars. He won’t be able to navigate that way.  
  
But really, right now, Jongin is too tired to care. Like his dragon, he finds himself drifting off into a dreamless sleep, not even caring that his hands are dangling in the water.  
  
  
When he wakes it’s still daytime and any trace of the storm has completely vanished. He pulls off his goggles, which he had fallen asleep with, and rubs the sore marks around his eyes, glad that no one else is here besides Feiwol, because he probably looks ridiculous.  
  
His stomach gurgles angrily. He’s so hungry, his stomach feels like it’s trying to claw itself out of him. He reaches for his pack, relieved almost to tears that it’s still there, and checks how much food he has left, burrowing through the crumpled up papers that are left over from the wrapped onigiri and snacks. There’s enough for two, or maybe three, days if he spreads out what’s there. It’s not much, but Feiwol can catch fish, if there are any. Maybe he’ll have to eat it raw, but he’d rather it doesn’t come to that. He’s never enjoyed raw fish by itself, and out here, he only has a small knife to prepare it with; he’ll be picking out bones for years.  
  
“There’s nothing for it. I guess we just have to pick a direction and fly that way.” Jongin sighs to himself, praying to whomever is listening that they find land soon. There’s only so much of the sea he can take. He enjoys exploring, that’s the reason he took this job in the first place, but eternal water is not how he imagined this job to be. He had imagined discovering new islands, uncovering new dragon species or finding new plants, new people, new _cultures_. It’s not because he wants recognition for discovering these things, no, he just loves learning and travelling. Ever since he was young, he would wander off, curiosity piqued by anything and everything. His parents had to hold him by the arm at all times so they didn’t lose him.  
  
Jongin nibbles at the soggy onigiri from his pack, falling apart in his hands, trying to take his time so that it lasts longer. Normally, Feiwol wouldn’t need to eat for at least a few days, but after working so hard to stay aloft during the storm, his energy must be drained as well. He’ll need to eat soon too. Jongin grits his teeth, frustrated at their predicament.  
  
“C’mon, Feiwol. We should get going.” Jongin says reluctantly, once the last grain of rice is gone. They need to find somewhere they can rest, gather resources and figure out where they _are_ , before returning home. Even if they have to sleep on the water's surface again at night, moving is more productive than floating here.  
  
Feiwol rumbles beneath Jongin as he shifts, spreading his wings and giving Jongin a moment to crouch low over his body. Moving his body in a zigzag motion like an eel, Feiwol swims along the surface until he picks up enough speed to take off. With a lurch, Feiwol propels himself out of the water, all four of his thin blue wings catching air and shivering from the currents. The eastern dragon has two sets of wings, spaced out enough for Jongin to sit in between them and not get in the way of his flying.  
  
Jongin feels bad for making him fly again so soon: his wings must be very sore.  
  
Even with the wind whipping at Jongin’s hair, it feels like they aren’t going anywhere. The scenery doesn’t seem to change in the least, only turquoise-blue waves as far as the eye can see. He scans the horizon again and again, hoping for a hint of land, a small speck in the distance that could bear the promise of food and shelter.  
  
He looks over his map, though it isn’t going to help much when he doesn’t know where he is on it. His homeland is on the right, starting from the southernmost city of NanFeiYuan to the icy mountainous of Ollumsan in the north. JingNa to the east, on the edge of the tundra, and in the centre, Bapuningu, the place he was born. Only the main locations are marked by name on this map, smaller islands represented by tiny inked dots.  
  
Everywhere except the mainland is ocean, with just a few small islands scattered across the otherwise blank canvas. No one knows whether there’s more land to the west or if world just… _stops_ big dragon. Whispers of stories about dragons so large, they even have other animals living on them circulate the Mapmakers Guild. Anyone who finds such a thing would go down in history.  
  
As they glide closer, Jongin sees that this isn’t the case. It really _is_ an island, a huge one, with a mountain peak in the centre and surrounded by a thriving jungle. It looks beautiful.  
  
There isn’t anything like this on the map he has, no small islands with a mountain. Jongin’s stomach is bubbling at the thought that he’s discovered a new island but, at the same time, this means he’s much, much further off course than he initially thought. Who knows how long it will take to get home? All he can do is wait for night to fall, so he can tell which way to fly, then he can record how long it takes to fly back to Bapuningu so this place can be drawn onto the maps.  
  
The sun setting casts the ridges of the mountain into a stark relief. The leaves seem to glow under the orange light and Jongin belatedly realises that he’s much farther south than he, or maybe _anyone_ , has ever been before. He should have checked the position of the sun before now, but there’s land nearby and that’s what’s most important.  
  
When they land on the sandy, white beach, the light has dimmed to just enough to see by. Exhilarated to be on steady ground again, after such a journey, Jongin bounces on his toes. He steps round to stand in front of Feiwol, patting his face and praising him for working so hard.  
  
“You must be so tired.” Jongin sighs, as Feiwol leans into his palm. “I am too, Feiwol. We need to find some place we can rest.”  
  
They don’t have much time before the blanket of night obscures everything, so they need to find somewhere safe to sleep, and fast. Jongin deliberates for a few moments, wondering whether to try his luck in the trees or fly over them and look for a cave in the mountainside. The jungle looks pretty dense, even on the edges. So Jongin hops back onto Feiwol’s back, taking off at a run to glide over the tops off the trees. If Jongin leans just to the side a little, he can touch the broad leaves, letting them whistle through his fingers. Jongin smiles. He’s never seen leaves quite like this: it’s entirely possible that this island is far enough away from the mainland that it has its own unique ecosystem. He pulls out a small sketchbook, eagerly drawing the shape of the leaves while he can still see them.  
  
As the terrain raises, the trees thin out until there are only thin waifish twigs sprouting from the ground, and small tufts of wildflowers poking through the thick, low lying bushes, laden with small red berries. Jongin doesn’t recognise them, so he wouldn’t dare eat them- their bright crimson could be a warning of poison.  
  
The ragged upper slopes of the mountain are covered with a carpet of shrubbery, in shades of green, orange and red. There are rocky hollows dotted here and there, none with enough space for both Jongin and a dragon the size of Feiwol, however.  
  
They keep searching until they come across a cavern, just big enough for Jongin and Feiwol to fit into, around the other side of the mountain. With Jongin pressed up against the far wall, his dragon can coil up so only a little part of his long body, more than three times the size of Jongin, peeks outside. Luckily, Feiwol is warm-blooded and emanates enough heat for Jongin to not need a fire right now. When he needs to cook, then he’ll make one, but not yet.  
  
Lining his body up against his dragon’s, he settles down to get some sleep. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best they have under such conditions. Huddled down together, Jongin finishes today’s ration of bread, assuring himself that tomorrow he will search for another source of food. There has to be some tree that produces edible fruit _somewhere_ in that forest, and he’s going to find it.  
  
  
Wandering through the forest proves to be a better experience than even Jongin had anticipated. He had found something to eat very quickly on a tree, with fruits that hang like raindrops and sweet orange flesh. It didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste on his tongue when he bit into it, so he concluded that it was most likely not poisonous. Feiwol noses around curiously in the underbrush, darting away occasionally to follow up on a scent, but coming back to check on Jongin once in awhile. His body is too large to fit comfortably through some of the gaps between the trees, so he has to weave his body around like a snake, which he isn’t used to doing.  
  
Jongin hears a snort of irritation, and smiles, laughing at the sight of Feiwol’s long snake-like body twisted around the tree trunks. Even with his two sets of wings folded back tightly to his body, they catch on twigs and branches. Luckily, Jongin had thought ahead and removed his saddle, leaving it inside their cave, as the buckles and reins would snag even worse.  
  
Jongin wishes he had taken off some of his clothes too, as it’s really very hot here, even in the shade. The humidity has his riding gear sticking to him like a second skin.  
  
Together, they make a wide loop of one side of the island, taking frequent breaks and exploring the forest. The island stretches out further on this side, with more jungle areas and expanses of grass, fringed by another yellow beach. There’s very little sign of life, apart from the insects that buzz around them non-stop: the occasional rustle in treetops signalling birds, or maybe smaller dragons, flitting through the canopy. He hasn’t seen a single large dragon, which is disappointing.  
  
Aside from the beach skirting the outer edge of the island, Jongin doesn’t find very much during his expedition. The nearest source of freshwater, a bubbling spring, is a fairly long walk away from his cave. Unfortunately he doesn’t have anything bigger than a canteen to carry it in. But on the upside, he’s found plenty of good sources of food, and a selection of dead branches to use for firewood. He has flint and iron pyrite in his pack, and a pile of dead leaves to use as tinder.  
  
With resources this abundant, it shouldn’t take too long before they are ready to leave again. They just need a few days so they can recuperate their lost energies; Jongin could even think of this as an unexpected holiday.  
  
Like a dog, Feiwol carries a large branch back to their cave in his mouth, carefully manoeuvring himself so he doesn’t get stuck. He makes soft grunting noises to catch Jongin’s attention, and Jongin chuckles, petting him and praising him.  
  
“Time to head back to the cave, I think. Unless you want to stick around here for a bit?” Jongin asks, wondering if maybe he should look for some meat, or root vegetables. Feiwol makes a sound, a little like a sneeze, which Jongin interprets as a ‘no’.  
  
“Alright, back to the cave it is, then.” He laughs, blowing on Feiwol’s nose just to tease him. The dragon gives him an affronted look, as if to say ‘ _how dare you?_ ’ then puffs a breath right back at him, messing up Jongin’s hair. The dragon then turns and struts back in the direction of their cave, head held high.  
  
“Hey!” Jongin laughs, patting his hair down and chasing after him. Feiwol breaks into a gallop, darting between the trees more easily now that he’s spent a whole day getting used to the twisty motion. Jongin has a hard time keeping up with him. “Wait for me!” He calls out, dodging around trees and leaping over protruding roots to not lose him.  
  
Jongin knows he needs to train more, but he’s startled by how quickly he loses his breath. Maybe it’s the humidity- _yeah_ , Jongin thinks, _let’s go with that_. When Feiwol stops short suddenly, Jongin almost collides into him, but he slows down just in time. Through his ragged breathing, he tries to scold his dragon, forcing the words out,  
  
“Why… you gotta go… _fast_ like...that?” He tries, hands on his knees as he recovers. Feiwol nudges him, making him look up. They’ve reached the edge of the forest and are a little way up the base of the mountain. Their cave is clearly visible from here, but that’s not what Feiwol is staring at.  
  
There is a boy.  
  
He must have been examining the saddle that they left behind, before he spotted the two of them. He is frozen in position, eyes wide and wary, waiting to see what Jongin and his dragon do. Even from a distance, Jongin can see that he is naked, and the way he is crouched, poised to run at any second, screams _feral_ to Jongin.  
  
 _Who is he?_ Jongin wants to know, but he doesn’t want to scare the boy off. Is he lost? Where are his parents? Are there other humans on this island?  
  
“Stay here,” Jongin tells Feiwol, worried that a large unknown dragon will scare the boy away.  
It’s likely that he won’t understand what Jongin is saying and if he approaches him like he would a stranger back home; he might become afraid. When people, like all animals, are scared, often they show signs of aggression. Jongin doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.  
  
Making sure not to maintain eye contact for too long, Jongin strolls up the mountainside like he isn’t still winded from the run here, slowing to a complete halt when he’s close enough to see that the boy isn’t a boy, but a man. He has no facial hair, but his body is unmistakably mature and Jongin is surprised to find that he looks very clean. Only his feet are dirty, which is understandable if he’s not wearing shoes.  
  
His hair is long, but it looks like it’s been shorn at some point recently; the ends are all different lengths. But it isn’t even greasy, let alone matted, like any stories about feral humans might have led him to believe.  
  
The man scuttles backwards a little when Jongin crouches, but doesn’t run away. He ducks his head to the side, looking up in short sharp bursts. The behaviour is shockingly dragonesque; Jongin has seen his fair share of wild dragons to know.  
  
“Hello.” Jongin says quietly, knowing that the man won’t understand him, but hoping the tone of his voice doesn’t come across as threatening. The man makes a small curious sound in the back of his throat and leans a little closer over the leather saddle. He stares at Jongin’s face first, then his gaze travels down Jongin’s body, pausing at his hands.  
  
Slowly, ever so slowly, he reaches for Jongin’s hand, holding his own next to it. Jongin stretches out his fingers, measuring them against the stranger’s- they are markedly different. Jongin has trimmed nails and long fingers, whereas the other man has longer, jagged nails, encrusted with dirt. But yet, they seem similar enough to have captivated the strange man. His pupils flick between their hands like he’s never seen anything like it and maybe he _hasn’t_. The man’s chest judders and his eyes are intense in a way that Jongin has never encountered before.  
  
Tentative, Jongin presses their palms together, aligning their fingers. The stranger flexes his fingers, pushing against Jongin’s, _testing_. He huffs a sharp breath through his nose, pleased when Jongin resists his strength. Just like a dragon, he blinks slowly, his brown eyes seeming to hone in on Jongin. The more of this man’s reactions Jongin sees, the more sure Jongin becomes that this man was raised by dragons. There’s no other explanation.  
  
The man glances sharply into the distance as if he heard something and his posture drops lower. This time, Jongin hears it too, a high warbling sound. A dragon call. The strange man looks one last time at Jongin, before descending the mountain side. His gait is an unusual mixture of bipedal and quadrupedal when the ground is uneven. He disappears into the trees, climbing them so rapidly that had Jongin blinked, he would have missed it.  
  
Jongin falls backwards, sitting down and staring into the edge of the jungle where the strange man disappeared.  
  
  
“Who was he, Feiwol?” Jongin asks, later the same evening over a selection of succulent fruit. “How did he _get_ here?” Feiwol snorts, unable to answer properly even if he _did_ know the answer. How could a human have ended up on a lone island like this? With no family or friends? Has he lived here by himself for a long time? He must have, in order to have been taken in by dragons.  
  
Raised by dragons….it’s something he’s never heard of. Dragons are fiercely protective of their own territory and their own kind. To let in an outsider, it’s _unfathomable_.  
  
While the light still remains, Jongin pulls his sketchbook out of his bag and begins to draw the man’s figure; the way he was crouched, and his curious eyes. The way his back curved when he was studying the saddle, the way his legs bent as he crouched comfortably, the way his fingers curled like a dragon’s. Jongin is by no means an artist, so he is less than pleased with the results of his work, but it serves his purpose. Maybe if he sees him again before he leaves, he could draw him one more time.  
  
He has so much to ask him, but no way to do that.  
  
Jongin has accumulated a small mound of cores and rind from the fruit he and his dragon had collected earlier, and his hands are a bit sticky. He uses up a little of the precious water he’d collected from the spring to clean them.  
  
After that, he lays down on the soft ground outside his cave and wishes that the sky would clear so he could see the stars. He hadn’t even noticed the clouds creeping in and they’re ruining his chances of finding his way home quickly. Celestial navigation is difficult enough even when he can actually _see_ the stars.  
  
He and Feiwol wait for a long time, staring up at the sky. But it just gets darker and darker, with no sign that the clouds will disappear. Jongin needs to sleep at some point, if he’s going to be able to wake up tomorrow; he needs to find more food and maybe find that man again.  
  
He takes off the outermost layer of his riding gear to go to sleep, sighing to himself and thinking hard about how he’s going to get out of this place. He wonders if his parents are missing him yet, or his friends. Sehun and Baekhyun likely won’t be worried for another few days yet, since he’s scheduled to return in two days and late arrivals are not uncommon. He shakes his head and rolls over, trying to force himself to fall asleep.  
  
  
Those wide eyes from yesterday greet him again when he wakes the next morning, too close for comfort. He yelps, scrambling away from the man who is crouched over his prone body. Jongin knows that wearing nothing must be normal for the dragon boy: it’s warm enough here at the moment for him not to need any clothing anyway, but even so, it’s a bit much for Jongin to handle three seconds after waking up.  
  
Is he supposed to say anything? He isn’t sure. Jongin smiles at him, in a manner he hopes isn’t threatening but welcoming. The man makes no sign of having recognised the gesture, so Jongin looks away, flattening his hair down.  
  
His mouth is dry and he’s dehydrated from the heat, which has given him an irritating low buzz of a headache. He reaches for his canteen to take a drink, but it’s empty. He’ll need to make a journey to the spring he found yesterday. The stranger flinches when he groans and stands up abruptly.  
  
The stranger watches him, curious just like yesterday. Jongin doesn’t know what to say, because it’s clear that nothing Jongin says will be understood anyway. He averts his eyes from the man’s naked body, trying to keep his eyes trained on his face and only his face. He comes a little closer, shuffling forwards on his hands and feet, standing up to reach for Jongin’s collar. Jongin stays as still as he can manage, rigid in his confusion. The stranger pinches Jongin’s riding shirt between his thumb and forefinger, pulling it away from his skin like he’s never seen anything like it before. Maybe he hasn’t.  
  
Slowly, the man pulls open his collar, dragging it sideways until he reveals his bare shoulder. Something in him seems relieved, somehow, that he’s like him underneath the clothes. When he yanks it even further, Jongin shakes him off and rights his clothes, getting uncomfortable with how close he was getting to half removing it. The strange man jumps and recoils, perhaps afraid of what Jongin might do. But he doesn’t go far, cowering in the corner next to Feiwol.  
Jongin sighs. He had certainly not expected anything like this when he landed here.  
  
“Hey,” Jongin begins softly, the strange man’s attention at once zeroing in on his mouth. Jongin licks his lips, nervous. The dragon man furrows his eyebrows and crouches lower. He decides he should start easy, to see if there’s any traces of human language in his mind.  
  
“My name is Jongin. _Jong-in_.” He repeats slowly, waiting to see if there’s any sign of comprehension. There’s nothing but confusion written on his face. Jongin places his hand on his chest and says his name a third time. There’s still no response from the stranger. Even when Jongin does it again, followed by a gesture to the man, indicating it’s his turn.  
  
The man points to the dragon.  
  
“That’s Feiwol. Fei-wol.” he says. The dragon looks up at the sound of his name but, when he realises he isn’t wanted for something, goes back to snoozing. Jongin says the dragon’s name again, hoping that maybe the man will say something, _anything_.  
  
Teaching this man to speak like him is a daunting task, that is sure to take a long time. Time he doesn’t have to spare; he needs to get back to Bapuningu and report this place’s existence to the Mapmakers. They are expecting him back within the next few days, and he still doesn’t know how far he has to travel. One or two days won’t cause too much worry, but if he waits longer than a week then they might presume him lost to the wind. Or start rumours that he’s finally fallen off the edge of the world.  
  
He tries his own name again, extra slow just in case that helps. Still nothing.  
  
Frustrated, Jongin runs his hand through his hair, then grabs for his riding gear. He may not be flying, but the extra leather and metal shoulder plate gives him protection. He still has no idea what’s out there in that forest; there could be any number of venomous snakes, scorpions or spiders. Or poisonous, spiky plants. He doesn’t want to risk dying alone out there, even if he overheats with the extra layers of leather.  
  
“C’mon, Feiwol. Gotta go get some water.” He sighs as he begins to tread his way carefully down the hilly slope. Feiwol doesn’t move, staring at him like he’s an idiot for leaving. “What are you doing?” Jongin asks, impatient and cranky from sleeping in an uncomfortable position, and from waking up with dirt in his hair. “We need water, aren’t you coming?” The dragon just sits there and snorts in the stranger’s direction, whose brown eyes flick towards Jongin. The dragon man looks to him like he’s said something important, mouth falling open in surprise, and he makes a small wuffling noise back at him.  
  
Jongin doesn’t understand what’s going on.  
  
“Fine, have it your way.” he grumbles, leaving the two to their own devices. He needs water urgently and he’s going to find it with or without the help of his dragon. He backs away from them, making his way down the mountainside and only casting the occasional glance back at the two he’s left behind. They are both watching him; Feiwol hasn’t moved but the man is leaning over the edge, wearing an expression that Jongin isn’t able to decipher. He shakes his head; water is more important right now.  
  
Jongin can fare well enough alone, so he’s not worried about that. He’s more worried about the strange dragon man and what he might do left alone with his dragon. Feiwol didn’t seem upset, however, so perhaps his worries are totally unfounded. He probably won’t even be there when he comes back, as he seems to belong to the local pride of dragons. So there’s really nothing to worry about.  
  
  
The forest is just as humid and leafy as yesterday, vines dangling from the lowest branches and insects everywhere he turns. Everything looks the same and even though he had tried to draw a map in his sketchbook of things that could be landmarks, he can’t find any of them among all the damned _leaves_. Despite the coverage of the canopy, he can tell that the sun has risen to its zenith, meaning it’s around midday now, which explains the torrid heat.  
  
He can’t find the spring. He’s been searching for hours, his sunburn is itching worse than before and he can’t find anything to alleviate it here. The plants here are all so different from back home. With that knowledge, he can’t even risk drinking the sap of a plant in case it’s dangerous.  
  
Defeated and sweating terribly, Jongin settles himself on a tree root that protrudes above the ground and buries his face in his hands. All he can do now is hope that Feiwol comes looking for him, worried that he’s taking so long to return. He left his whistle there with the dragon in his hurry, so he can’t call for him.  
  
His stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn’t eaten yet today either. Ugh, _none_ of this is going to plan. What he wouldn’t give for Sehun, or Baekhyun to be here with him. Or better yet, a senior rider, like Eunhyuk or Donghae. They would know what to do.  
  
Something drops onto the ground in front of him with a controlled _thud_ , prompting Jongin to look up in shock. He isn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t the strange dragon man again, this time with a pleased gleam in his eyes. Crouched low, he crawls towards him. Jongin leans away, not really appreciating how his privacy keeps being invaded like this. He has no problem with men, none at all, but he’s certainly not accustomed to any being so close to him _naked_. Not so soon, at least.  
  
“ _Jon-gin_.” The name is so startling that Jongin does a double take. The strange man has a deep guttural voice and the way his lips form the words is exaggerated, but Jongin can hardly fault him for that.  
  
“Yes. Jongin.” He replies, intrigued. Why now? Why wait to say his name? He snorts again, head bobbing to show his pleasure. With one hand, only slightly grimy, the man reaches out and curls his fingers around his wrist and pulls Jongin upright until they’re both standing at their full height. Jongin is a little bit taller, but not by so much that the dragon man has to crane his neck to look up at him.  
  
He grunts softly, jerking his head to the side. Jongin frowns; is he trying to help? The man starts to walk, leading Jongin along by the wrist like an errant child. Jongin allows himself to be led, unsure what the reaction would be if he yanked his arm back. The man doesn’t seem to be leading him to his death, at least.  
  
They walk for a very long time. Jongin feels like the strange man must be going at a snail’s pace for his benefit, because he’s seen him run as fast as any dragon. The way he walks, too, is unusual. At first he had moved with his usual gait, crouched low and smooth, but after a while he had pulled himself straight up and started walking the way Jongin is. It was interesting to watch the transition: the man seems to have no problem at all imitating the way he walks. In fact, it looks like it comes as naturally to him as his way of walking before.  
  
Jongin feels like he’s dying. His head is throbbing and his throat dry despite the humid air. He’s sweating from every pore and his flight gear is chafing everywhere. He deeply regrets putting it all on that morning.  
  
He wonders where the man could be taking him. Maybe back to the cave?  
  
They must have traversed the entire island by now, they’ve been walking for so long. It will probably take Jongin hours to find his cave again, not to mention Feiwol. Where _is_ that dragon?  
  
“Jon-gin.” The man speaks again, tugging lightly at his arm when he slows. Are they close? He seems more insistent now, his pace increasing. Is it just him or are the trees starting to thin out a little bit? The sunlight is reaching the forest floor now, in dappled patches that he and the dragon man pass through like stepping in puddles of yellow.  
  
A small dragon crosses their path, wings fluttering so fast its scales are just an iridescent blue blur. Its wingbeats send a gentle breeze cascading over Jongin’s damp skin, cooling him slightly. He shuts his eyes and relishes in that moment of coolness, allowing the stranger to take him where he will.  
  
He can sense the brightness on his eyelids, painting his vision orange and red. And...he can hear footsteps, and... fluttering? Has the stranger brought him to the local pride’s home? Prickles of fear run down his spine; a horde of dragons is not easy to deal with, especially when you traipse into their territory like an idiot.  
  
Jongin opens his eyes to find that they have stepped into a huge, more or less circular clearing, grassy and lush, filled with dragons ranging from small to large, green to red, long to short. There are nests every few feet, some filled with eggs, others overflowing with tiny hatchlings. Jongin's mouth falls open.  
  
How do they have enough food to sustain them here? Not all of them can live on only fruit...maybe fish? He hadn’t seen any evidence of animals that he would call prey around here, no cattle of any kind, or sheep, although that shouldn’t have surprised him. In warm climates like these, sheep would be rare.  
  
“Jon-gin.” The man speaks again, softly. Jongin looks around with caution, prepared to run for his life at the slightest sign of aggression, but there is none. In fact most of the dragons don’t seem to have even _noticed_ him. They continue on with their usual business, looking after their young- which there seems to be a lot of- and flying in low circles around the nesting grounds. _Typical protective dragon behaviour_ , he thinks.  
  
“Feiwol?” Jongin breathes, recognising the underside of his own dragon as he drifts by on an updraft. So he’s fine after all, just lounging around here instead of trying to help him. Jongin purses his lips.  
  
A clutch of serpentine hatchlings careen towards them, their tongues lolling out of their mouths as they run. Jongin edges away, but they aren’t headed for him: they leap towards the dragon man, making him fall to the ground, and crawl all over him. They nip at his skin and rub their scaly faces against his neck.  
  
This is the first time Jongin has seen him laugh. It makes him a lot more approachable and far less intimidating, not that he was scary before by any means. Not to Jongin, anyway. It’s just...nice to see it.  
  
The little hatchlings seem so familiar to the man. Could they be his family? Or is he just good at taking care of the young ones? It makes him smile to see him frolic and roll around with them either way, but he’s still dying of thirst. He sits down heavily with his back against a tree, and stares at his canteen, wishing it would just fill itself. There has to be a source of water nearby, right? The dragons wouldn’t live here otherwise.  
  
Lethargic, he peers around the clearing, hoping to see a spring or a pool of drinkable water. There isn’t anything immediately visible. Jongin lets his head fall back against the smooth bark. His mouth is so dry and his head still aches terribly.  
  
A shadow blocks the sun from him, making him look up warily. If it’s an angry dragon, he will need to make a move _fast_.  
  
It is a dragon. She’s huge, almost three times the size of Feiwol, with rusty orange coloured scales and a fan of spines around her face that make her look even bigger. Luckily, her attention isn’t directed at him: she’s looking towards the dragon man, who is sheepishly pushing the hatchlings off him and looking at Jongin. She snorts a puff of smoke from her nostrils, and the dragon man leaps into action.  
  
Walking low again, he approaches Jongin and says his name again, concern colouring his voice. Jongin smiles at him when he takes his hand and acquiesces when he pulls him upright. Once again he’s being led somewhere, but this time with a little more urgency than before; in fact, Jongin finds himself having to jog to keep up with him.  
  
Jongin is dragged through another section of jungle, twisting and weaving through more trees, these ones skinnier than the main part of the jungle, as though they are newer, younger trees. Jongin barely notices these details, licking his lips and wishing he had some water.  
  
They slow to a stop and Jongin gasps.  
  
Before him is a pool of the clearest water he’s ever seen and he doesn’t think twice about diving for it, scooping up handfuls of sparkling water and slurping it up until he’s had his fill. He splashes some on his face, almost crying at how good it feels cool against his warm skin. His stomach is bulging with the amount he’s already drunk, but he takes a few more mouthfuls anyway, just because it tastes so _good_. There must be something in this water to make it so delicious- either that or it’s just a side effect of being so thirsty.  
  
A sound to his left reminds him that he’s not alone and he looks up into the dragon man’s eyes, embarrassed all of a sudden. He probably looks like an idiot now, covered in water splashes and squatting in the dirt like a child. The other dragons are watching him too, bewildered after he had disturbed them. Jongin laughs awkwardly and wipes his face.  
  
“Thank you.” He says, knowing that he won’t understand him but wanting to express his gratitude anyway. The dragon man’s mouth twitches and he bobs his head again, like a dragon. Jongin wonders if maybe he should start trying to mimic a dragon, so he can get his feelings across. Hm.  
  
Feeling a little silly, he copies the dragon man. The man makes a strange noise in the back of his throat that Jongin would never be able to recreate and settles down next to Jongin, taking a drink himself. To Jongin’s surprise, he dips his whole face into the water, gulping it down like a dragon would.  
  
Jongin takes this chance to fill his canteen up and look around him. The pool they are drinking from is at the foot of the mountain, and fed by a spring that trickles down from the mountain’s peak. They must be on the other side of the mountain from where he and Feiwol had initially set up camp, so it’s no wonder his legs ache. He’s walked a long way today.  
  
Heaving himself upright again, Jongin inclines his head back in the direction they came from. Trying to ask the dragon man whether they should go.  
  
He really should think of a name other than ‘dragon man’ for him.  
  
“Hey,” Jongin says, catching the man’s attention. One last try. “I’m Jongin.” he says pointing to himself. He points to the man, hoping for something he can call him. The man seems to understand this time, the sound that comes out of his mouth is something so dragonesque that there’s no way that he could ever hope to pronounce it. Regardless, he tries.  
  
“Uh. Graroo?” The man, Graroo, can’t hide his disappointment. Jongin winces, scratching the back of his neck and wishing that he hadn’t said anything. For some reason, he had expected him to have a human name, a _normal_ name. He should have known that a man raised by dragons would have a name he can’t say.  
  
But he had to have been given a human name at one point in his life, right? What was his life like before he ended up here? He couldn’t have just popped into existence here. Jongin can feel himself being drawn to the mystery, as much as he should try to distance himself from it.  
  
They walk back to the nesting grounds in silence and now that he isn’t dying of thirst, Jongin is clear minded enough to think about what this means.  
  
He saw at least twenty nests, which is the highest number of mothering dragons he’s ever heard of, in one place at least. This is _groundbreaking news_. Jongin has accidentally stumbled into the biggest nesting grounds ever discovered. The Mapmakers are going to be ecstatic; the dragonologists are going to jump for joy; the botanists, the geologists, the ecologists- all of them are going to be over the moon when they hear about this place.  
  
It’s all the more reason for him to head back home as soon as he can. Tonight, he will make sure to look out for the stars, so he knows for sure which direction to fly to get there. There are only scatterings of clouds in the sky today, so hopefully it stays that way when night falls.  
  
When they reach the clearing again, Graroo is instantly accosted by the same clutch of hatchlings that were all over him before. There are more of them now, and some of them look a lot like the large dragon who had communicated with Graroo earlier on- maybe they’re hers? Jongin looks around for her, but she isn’t around anymore, so he can’t compare them.  
  
Happy to just watch them play, rolling around on the floor, Jongin pulls out his sketchbook and draws them. It’s difficult: none of them stay still for longer than a second. But Jongin is still proud of the finished result. It features the other human again, this time with all the hatchlings around him, all of them playing together on the grassy floor.  
  
Maybe he can just relax for a little while, let his feet rest. He takes off his shoes and socks, and massages his sore feet. The cool grass feels like a blessing against his bare soles, and he considers taking off more clothes to cool off, but in the end he only removes his riding gear, leaving his underclothes on. In the shade it’s much cooler, so he doesn’t need to remove all of it.  
  
He settles himself for people watching, or in this case, dragon watching. He observes the goings on of the family groups and the natural interactions between them. There’s no sign of real aggression anywhere he looks, apart from the hatchlings play fighting, which is unusual in a pride as large as this. This place really is special.  
  
Jongin is almost nodding off, the warm evening light lulling him to sleep, when he spots a dark smudge in the distance. He hadn’t noticed it before because the dragons had all been milling around in the foreground, blocking his view. But now most of them are curling around their nests, keeping their young safe.  
  
Jongin squints, trying to see what the black smudge could be- a black rock maybe? A small patch of forest that caught fire at one point? It’s too far away, and he can’t make it out.  
  
Graroo’s face, far too close as usual, blocks his line of sight.  
  
“Jon-gin.” He says gleefully, holding out a small raw fish. Black smudge forgotten, Jongin cringes away from in it surprise. It soon becomes clear that Graroo is giving it to him to eat and he has one of his own in his other hand.  
  
Tentatively, Jongin takes the fish from him and smiles wanly. It’s cold and slimy in his hand and makes him shiver: he’s never liked fish all that much. But he can’t complain because at least he’s not starving.  
  
The dragon man settles down on the ground next to him, mimicking the way he’s seated, legs bent and one arm propping him up behind him. It looks unnatural on him and displays way more of him than he should, but he seems intent on sticking with it.  
  
Graroo bites into the fish, not caring about peeling the skin off or picking out the bones like Jongin does. It’s a little disconcerting to watch, so Jongin looks away.  
  
For a fish, it doesn’t taste all that bad, and the bones aren’t overwhelming either. He chokes it down, leaving a little pile of waste to his left, where the dragon man can’t see it. He hopes he doesn’t look, because he doesn’t want to seem ungrateful.  
  
Jongin wonders where Feiwol has gotten to, since he hasn’t really seen him since this morning, only brief glimpses from a distance. Maybe he’s found himself a nest to curl into for the night. Come to think of it, where is _Jongin_ going to sleep? It’s getting dark now, and soon he won’t be able to see anything at all, let alone his way back to the cave.  
  
He’ll just have to sleep here, he concludes. He’s sheltered by this tree if it rains, although it doesn’t look like it’s going to anytime soon, and it’s far away from the rest of the nests that he wouldn’t be seen as intruding by the mother dragons.  
  
They sit in silence together until the sun sets completely, the sky slowly filtering through a kaleidoscope of colours until the stars come out. Jongin gasps then, searching for the brightest star that will tell him which way he needs to go. He crawls out from under the tree, so that the leaves don’t obscure his vision, and the dragon man mimics his actions, lying down next to him.  
  
The polar star shines like a beacon and Jongin knows which way is north now. By the position of the constellations, he can also tell that he’s much, much farther south than he had even imagined. It will take days, maybe even _weeks_ , of flying to return back home; that storm had carried him miles and miles off course.  
  
Frowning, Jongin makes mental notes on all the things he’ll have to do before he begins the flight home. Food and water are the most important things, but the hard part is figuring out how much to bring, since it could be weeks of flying before he and Feiwol make it back. Feiwol can last longer without food and water, but he’s not infallible, and he can’t drink saltwater.  
  
He notes everything down in the back page of his sketchbook, making a rough list that he can tick off as he secures each thing on there. He can barely see what he is doing, however, so he scrawls a few of the more important things, and snaps it shut, putting it away quickly.  
  
Jongin scans his surroundings, closely watched by the dragon man, then starts to remove some of his outer clothing. He’s made a little uncomfortable by the way the man stares at him, but he does it anyway. The way he’s staring is by no means sexual, just curious, like a child maybe.  
  
Frowning, Jongin curls onto the ground and prepares for an uncomfortable night of shivering and cold hard earth against him. The dragon man startles him with a jolting cry, then reaches out to him, pausing just long enough to ascertain that Jongin isn’t going to flinch away before grabbing his arm and pulling him upright.  
  
‘ _Come with me_ ’ is what he seems to be saying, as he tugs Jongin between and around various nests. Never having been quite so close to wild nesting dragons before, Jongin is a little nervous. But the dragon man doesn’t appear to be the slightest bit perturbed. He just cajoles him along, until they reach one nest in particular. Jongin can’t be sure in this light, but he thinks he recognises this dragon from earlier, the rusty orange coloured one.  
  
The man lets go of his hand then, and makes a cooing noise in the back of his throat. The female dragon coos back and lifts her wing docilely. Without hesitation, the man crawls underneath the wing into the dark cavity there, gesturing loosely for Jongin to join him.  
  
Trepidation swirls in Jongin’s gut: to sleep in a nest with a dragon? It’s unheard of. Dragons almost never allow humans their territory without first building up friendship and trust, so sharing a sleeping space? Without having met them before? To say he’s nervous about this would be a major understatement. At least it will make for a good story to tell, when he gets back home, he thinks. Provided he makes it through the night.  
  
After a long moment of hesitation, Jongin crawls underneath next to the strange man. He’s surprised by how warm it is under here, next to the dragon’s body. The dragon man lets out a noise, which Jongin takes to be a laugh, at how he gingerly slides in next to him. It’s very cramped.  
  
A moment later, the dragon’s wing falls across them again, blocking out the wind. It’s so dark, Jongin can’t even see his hand when he’s holding it just a few inches from his face. He can feel rather than see the slow, deep breaths of the huge dragon beside him. On his other side, the dragon man lies in silence. He may even already be asleep.  
  
Wriggling around a little, Jongin kicks off his boots and starts to relax. After all that he’s been through the past few days, sleep takes him easily.  
  
  
Jongin tramps through the forest again, this time following after the dragon man; as he darts to and fro through the foliage, scaling trees as easily as a squirrel. He isn’t really sure why he’s following him, to be honest, but Feiwol hadn’t been remotely interested when he tried to saddle him up this morning. Since this man had been eager to take him along on whatever journey he planned on making, Jongin had felt that he may as well occupy his time this way rather than sitting alone with his self pity, or wandering the jungle alone.  
  
Gradually, he is becoming used to the way he behaves. This strange mixture of dragon and human attributes, on all fours one moment and upright the next. What would the people back at home make of him? He wonders to himself with a small smile.  
  
“Jongin.” The sound of his own name in the silence makes him jump and he reels, searching for the source. Of course, the only person out here is the dragon man, or _Graroo_.  
  
“Yes?” He tries, cautiously. The man pats the tree and repeats his name. Jongin frowns. The man frowns back and pats the tree harder. Jongin withers under his fiery gaze.  
  
“Uh...Tree?” He tries, “I don’t know what you want.”  
  
“Uh. Tree.” The man parrots, heavily accented.  
  
So he wants to learn to speak human language? Jongin nods, intrigued all of a sudden. Jongin scrutinises the man as he repeats the word over and over, taking in his unkempt appearance and unashamed nakedness- what kind of stories would he be able to tell?  
  
“Tree.” Jongin confirms with a smile. Proudly, the man rumbles, then as quick as it came the moment is over. Graroo falls back onto all fours, diving off once again into the underbrush. Jongin watches him go and allows himself to smile; if he wants to learn, then Jongin will be all too willing to help him.  
  
Teaching the dragon man to talk will be added to his list of things he needs to do, before he leaves.  
  
  
Once again, Graroo is dragging Jongin across the island terrain, leading him towards an unspecified location. They're walking uphill, though, so Jongin suspects that he intends to take him to the top of the mountain for some reason or another. He still walks alternating between a human gait and a dragon’s crawl, climbing over larger rocks with relative ease and leaving Jongin in the dust, so to speak.  
  
The speaking lessons have been going well, as far as Jongin is concerned. He’s been here four days now, and he is already speaking fairly well, for just having started learning. The other man can only handle a short while of Jongin’s teaching before he becomes frustrated and leaves, but he always comes back quickly, new fire in his eyes.  
  
As they wander ever higher, Jongin peppers the other man with questions. What's this? What's that? Is this good to eat? He takes it in his stride, answering quickly and concisely to the best of his ability. Sometimes he uses words or phrases that Jongin is positive he didn't teach him, catching him off guard. He must have known how to speak at one time.  
  
When they reach the summit, Jongin feels like his legs are about to give way underneath him and he knows he should stop relying so much on Feiwol to take him places: he’s weak.  
  
But those thoughts are secondary to his surroundings: the view from the mountain peak takes his breath away. He can see the jungle canopy in intimate detail, each branch waving gently in the breeze. He can see the open space where the dragons reside, busy with movement. He can see the sandy banks of the beach, pale and beautiful. He can see the horizon, stretching out for miles in the distance.  
  
“My favourite.” Kyungsoo informs him sombrely, lowering his body to the ground and closing his eyes. He seems totally unaffected by the chill up here, even though Jongin is drawing his flying clothes closer around him to stay warm.  
  
“Why?” Jongin asks, just to try and get him to speak more. It's not hard to guess why this must be his favourite place to come. The man purses his lips, thinking of the words for a moment, and Jongin joins him on the ground next him.  
  
“Nice.” Is all he says. Jongin almost laughs. He isn't sure what he expected, but it hadn't been that; it seemed like too obvious an answer somehow.  
  
“It _is_ nice,” Jongin agrees, looking out across the island again, taking in the scenery. His sketchbook is out quickly and soon enough he's drawing everything he can see from this vantage point.  
  
After a while, he finds himself stuck on the man sat comfortably beside him, sketching his side profile carefully. He doesn't seem to notice, so Jongin continues on with his actions, drinking in the wild man's heavy eyebrows and sharp jaw, his broad shoulders and wiry muscles. He would be a dream come true for life painters, he thinks ruefully, evenly proportioned and stoic.  
  
This is not the first drawing of the man he’s done, not the second, or even the third, but it's the first he's done like this. Usually Jongin captures him from a distance, climbing or swimming, or in motion. He has a wonderful collection of him playing with the baby dragons which is his responsibility, apparently, when the mother dragons leave for a while get food. He's never focused so intently on his eyes, or noticed them so closely.  
  
Jongin coughs and puts his pencil down, surveying his drawing. It's one of his best, that's for sure. He flashes a glance back at the man, wondering what he would think of it, before closing the sketchbook and putting it away.  
  
He wracks his brain for something to say, suddenly uncomfortable in their silence, as it gives Jongin too much room to think.  
  
“How old are you?” Is the first thing that comes out of his mouth. Not too bad, all things considered. The dragon man turns to him as if awoken from a trance, so Jongin repeats his question.  
  
“I think...” he pauses for a moment, eyebrows furrowing, “I have seen twenty six summers. That is what my mother tells me.”  
  
“Wow.” Jongin breathes. Alone all this time. No, not alone; he had his dragon family. The orange dragon with the spiny neck frill took him in. But to have no one that looks like you for so long must be hard, even if he didn’t realise it quite so clearly at the time.  
  
“You're a little older than me, then.” Jongin laughs, “I guess I should be more respectful, huh?” He teases, knowing full well that hierarchy between dragons is vastly different to humans. When Kyungsoo only blinks at him, Jongin decides that now is as good a time as any to explain.  
  
“Where I'm from, younger people are supposed to show respect to their seniors. Since I’m younger than you, it means I should talk to you a certain way. Don't worry about it too much.” He dismisses the concept. Kyungsoo will never need to know about it anyway. Dragons show respect to those stronger than them by not getting in their way, and to the ones close to them by bringing them gifts. The better the gift, the higher they value the receiver: a method of courtship.  
  
“What ‘respect’?” He insists, edging closer, eager to understand. Jongin flounders, unsure how to break it down.  
  
“It's like…. Accepting that someone has a higher status than you and acting the right way to them. It's complicated. There's a lot it can mean and a lot of things that could be ‘respectful’. It’s a way of acting.” He finished a little embarrassed, feeling like a bad teacher. He doesn't know what he's doing really, and he wishes he had someone to ask, but he doesn't. He's miles away from anyone.  
  
The dragon man hums and Jongin takes that as the end of the conversation. They both turn back to the scenery, missing it when the other glances towards them.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly a week has passed since Jongin and the dragon man mutually agreed to teach and learn Jongin’s language, but he is able to communicate in short sentences very well. A lot of their interactions are still gestures and wild guesses, but they get along fine with what they have. It’s just like talking to any foreigner, Jongin thinks, only there’s no one who speaks both languages yet and no one to mediate between them.  
  
The wild man is enthusiastic, more so than anyone Jongin has ever met. Ever since he learned the question words, he’s lucky if he gets more than a few minutes peace at a time. From the moment they wake up, to the moment they fall asleep under the dragon’s wing, it’s a never ending barrage of who, what, when, where and why.  
  
There are a lot of concepts that are very difficult to translate, and Jongin doesn’t have words for everything that the man wants to know, like a lot of the fruit he’s never seen before. He gives them new names just to pacify him, and hopes that they don’t already have a name that he just doesn’t know. The orange fruits he has creatively named ‘tearfruit’, because of it’s shape.  
  
Other things, such as dreams or music, are a little harder for Jongin to explain. Dragons do not play music, but they do sing, in a sense. Like wolves, they harmonise with a howling cry that can be heard for miles. It’s an unusual phenomenon though and Jongin can only do his best impersonation, in hopes that he’s understood.  
  
Tenses seem to be a difficult concept as well, but Jongin knows that everything will come with time. Even so, he’s picking up the language at a remarkably fast pace. Jongin suspects that it’s because he already knew it once before, a long time ago. He must have come from the west side of the mainland, like Jongin.  
  
Most days, they spend wandering through the forest pointing things out and trying to describe others. It’s tough going, but Jongin is glad that the man is invested in learning and enthusiastic. He’s always trying to practice and almost always trailing after Jongin when he goes out to walk through the jungle. Sometimes, however, they switch it up and he drags Jongin around to show him what he does during the day.  
  
Jongin enjoys listening to him as well, even though he stumbles through his sentences, as the way he thinks is so unlike anything Jongin has encountered before; it’s like talking directly to a dragon. He tells him about his chores, looking after the hatchlings, finding food and exploring the island in his spare time. It all sounds amazing to Jongin, who was brought up in a busy city, like some kind of fantasy story.  
  
He must know every square inch of this island after all these years and he always seems to know which way they’re going and how to get back to the nesting ground.  
  
“When I am young, I climb tree, biggest at island.” The dragon man recounts, as they walk towards such a tree, “mother is very angry. She tells me I am bad- no wings! I cannot save if I am to fall. I think is funny, and I go again the next day.”  
  
“You sound like a little terror.” Jongin laughs, imagining a small child scrambling up to the highest heights of the tallest tree for miles, just to see if he could. He pushes aside a branch to get past, but the man fluidly ducks underneath it, gait hardly pausing in the motion.  
  
“What?” Graroo wrinkles his nose, confused. How his head isn’t hurting from remembering so much, Jongin hasn’t a clue, but he’s amazed at how much he’s retaining.  
  
“It means naughty, but its affectionate. Not really a bad thing, but by itself ‘terror’ means very scary.”  
  
“Oh. Yes, naughty. I am- was. I was naughty child.” He smiles a little, as if remembering something else. Jongin tilts his head.  
  
“What is it?” He asks, softly so as not to make him jump.  
  
“I remember from _before_. I was naughty too.” His words make Jongin pause; ‘before’? Before what? Is this the information he’s been waiting for? Jongin tries not to seem to eager as he asks him to explain.  
  
“Hm?” Jongin tries not to sound like he's been waiting for this information.  
  
“I was very little- I think-” he counts on his fingers, holding up one hand and a thumb.  
  
“Six. You were only six years old?”  
  
“Yes, six. Fire.”  
  
“There was a fire?!” Jongin repeats, maybe more surprised than he should be. On an island filled with fire breathing dragons, he shouldn’t be so shocked that something was set alight. Jongin watches the man’s face carefully, looking to see how much he remembers, but his face is impassive. He thinks that either he’s blocked out the memory, or maybe he wasn’t there for the fire itself, just the aftermath. He could be wrong.  
  
“Yes. Everything was fire. I am- was alone. Mother took care of me. Food, nest, water. She is very kind.” The news is startling, despite him having expected it. He is burning to know more, to ask about everything the man remembers, to discover the truth of what happened here. But he doesn’t want to appear insensitive. It would be rude to pry, he thinks, even if the man doesn’t really understand the concept of privacy yet. Or maybe he should say ‘anymore’.  
  
“Oh.” Is all he says in the end. They continue walking in silence, neither knowing quite what to say. It’s the longest period of quiet since their first encounter, without sleeping, and it’s all the more uncomfortable because of it. He should just mind his own business and figure out a way off this island, before he gets too invested in this mystery.  
  
No, there is one more thing that he wants to know, “What was your name? From before, I mean.”  
  
The man looks at him contemplatively, deep brown eyes searching, seeming to penetrate his very soul. “I don’t know.” He replies.  
  
It’s too late, Jongin thinks; he’s already neck deep in whatever this is.  
  
  
“Jongin! Hey!” Jongin is roused by someone shaking him and a sudden rush of cold. He jerks awake and places his hand over his rapidly beating heart, trying to calm down. He can’t see anything much in this light but he knows that the dragon man far too close for comfort again.  
  
“What is it?” He moans, covering his eyes. It can’t be morning already, can it?  
  
“I know who am!” He exclaims, “I remembered!”  
  
“What?” Jongin squints into the darkness. It’s still the middle of the night and the stars are twinkling in the sky above them, visible now that the dragon has removed her wing, disgruntled at having been woken up. There’s still at least three hours until sunrise.  
  
“My name. It is _Kyungsoo_!” He beams, staring into nothing, watching something play in his mind’s eye. Jongin gasps, the sound unheard in the night.  
  
“Kyungsoo?” He questions just to make sure he got it right. It sounds like a name from the western side of the mainland- Jongin was right in thinking he came from nearby. Kyungsoo nods. Jongin thinks the name suits him. “That’s fantastic news!” He grins, rubbing his eyes. Kyungsoo settles down next to him  
  
“I remember- my mother, my first mother, calling me. I was climbing and she was scared. I always liked to climb. I want to see everything.”  
  
“Me too. I’m an explorer at heart, always have been.” Jongin hums, staring out into the distance. He yawns, wondering if they can go back to sleep.  
  
“I had a sister, too.” Kyungsoo says, “She was older than me. My father and mother brought us here so they could study. There was an accident and the place they slept was burnt; I was away, in the forest.” His eyes harden, “I feel bad, I should have been with them. I only was not there because I wanted to explore without my mother telling ‘no’ when I climbed a tree, or went in the water.”  
  
“It’s sad.” Jongin says, “but you shouldn’t feel guilty. Would they want you to feel like this?”  
  
“Guilty?” He questions.  
  
“It means a bad feeling when you have, or _think_ you have, done something wrong.”  
  
Kyungsoo half smiles. “You may be right.” He lies back on the soft warm ground, beckoning Jongin to join him. He does, grateful for the warmth he is provided by the dragon. And by the dragon man. _Kyungsoo_.  
  
There are still so many unanswered questions, who were Kyungsoo’s parents? Why had he never heard of them? Why had no one come to find them? But it’s too late to think about them now. He shifts, allowing his arm to rest along the length of Kyungsoo’s and drifts off.  
  
  
Jongin hasn’t seen Feiwol in almost two days, so he is on a mission to seek his dragon companion out and make sure he’s ok. He’s almost positive that he will be, as the large reptile is much better at taking care of himself than Jongin is in this kind of situation. He has the instincts of survival and is a natural predator, so he can catch his own food easily. His kind glides low over the surface of the water, and waits for an unsuspecting fish to draw to near to the top, then dives for it.  
  
Even so, Jongin would have thought that he would have wanted to spend time with him, his rider, in this wilderness. They were close friends on an island full of strange dragons, and one person, so familiarity is something that Jongin, at least, is craving. Even if it’s one sided, today Jongin is going to find him and spend some time with him.  
  
Where has he been anyway? Jongin wonders if he’s found a mate here. That could be catastrophic for his plans to leave; there’s no way he would be able to persuade the stubborn dragon from a mated dragon, it would just not be possible. Jongin hopes that’s not the case, as he hacks his way through the undergrowth, eyes on the sky in case he catches a glimpse of the long dragon in the air.  
  
He breaches the foliage and finds himself in another clearing, this one a lot smaller than the nesting grounds. There are a few dragons lounging around here in the rough grass, who look up when he bursts through. Jongin freezes, hoping that none of them will become hostile upon his arrival, but to his relief they all ignore him. Maybe they all know of the sill human who has entered their domain, and have been told not to bother with him.  
  
Sighing, Jongin relaxes and scans his surroundings. Most of the dragons here are varying shades of green, so Feiwol’s blue scales shouldn’t be too hard to spot, he thinks as he wanders through the horde of dragons. They’re all huddled more or less in the middle, where the shade of the trees never reaches them, so Jongin has to meander through and avoid stepping on claws or tails that are hidden in the grass.  
  
There. Coiled up like a common snake, lazy and enjoying the sun, is Feiwol. _So this is where he’s been hiding_ , Jongin thinks. No wonder he hasn’t seen him up in the sky; all he’s doing is _napping_ all day.  
  
“Hello,” Jongin breathes, approaching confidently. Feiwol barely raises his head in greeting, opening one eye only for a moment. Jongin puts his hands on his hips. “Oh, come on now. Is that how you greet a friend?”  
  
His words don’t seem to do much, so Jongin stands in the dragon’s light until Feiwol grumbles under his breath. Jongin hadn’t realised how lazy the beast had become; would he even be able to manage a flight back to their home like this? He would need a break every few days to gain back his energy. Jongin huffs. They could sleep on the water surface, they’ve done it before and they could do it again.  
  
Sighing, Jongin settles down next to Feiwol, leaning against his side, The dragon grunts, but doesn’t complain. Jongin pats his flank. He’s going to be so grumpy when they get back to Bapuningu, it’s rarely this sunny and warm back there, and it often rains. Maybe Feiwol knows this and is just making the most of his time here, enjoying the heat on his scales while he still can.  
  
“I’m going to miss it here too.” Jongin says, shielding his eyes as he looks out across the clearing. Feiwol grunts. It really is gorgeous here, it seems like a utopia from one of the books he used to read as a child. It was because of undiscovered places like these, that Jongin became an explorer.  
  
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about this man, though. Kyungsoo... He really is an enigma.”  
  
  
Jongin could leave. He’s technically all ready, all the preparations made. It would be easy; he could just hop on Feiwol’s back tomorrow morning and just… _go_. He’s been here for more than two weeks now, and he wants to go home, he _does_. But there’s something holding him back, and that something is leading him by the hand across the beach to the water.  
  
The sand feels good beneath his bare feet and he's glad that Kyungsoo had managed to persuade him to take his shoes off. Walking through the forest without foot protection had been an ordeal at first, but Kyungsoo had insisted. Scared to cut himself on a stray twig, Jongin had proceeded very slowly, taking care with each step he took. It hadn't taken long for Kyungsoo to become frustrated with him, showing him how to follow the mossy paths and smooth tree roots to avoid danger; guiding him by the hand all the while.  
  
It makes Jongin smile, how child-like some of the man's actions are, yet how grown up he is sometimes as well. He's an expert in his own area, knowing the dragons and the island; just as well as Jongin who knows how to act when confronted with another human being. They cover each other’s bases.  
  
“Here.” Kyungsoo announces, letting go of Jongin’s hand to gesture out to the open ocean, distant and vacant. Jongin squints into the distance where the sky meets the water, blurring into one. When he was younger, he would imagine chasing that line until he found the edge of the world. He never found it.  
  
“It's beautiful.” Jongin comments, unsure what Kyungsoo wants for him say. The man in question makes a small rumbly noise in the back of his throat, a sound of dissatisfaction.  
  
“What _is_ it?” Kyungsoo complains. _Oh_ , Jongin thinks. Kyungsoo is far more dedicated to learning than he had predicted he would be; and he's taking pride in having such an enthusiastic student.  
  
“This is the ocean.” Jongin smiles. “Hold on, I'd like to show you something.” He mumbled, trudging back up the sandy banks of the beach to a drier area and settling under the shade of some broad leafed trees. He pulls the canister off his belt, unpops the cap and pulls out his most precious possession. He unfurls it like a flower and lays it on the soft ground, spreading it flat with his hands. Kyungsoo watches on with confusion, sitting down across from him and squinting at the paper.  
  
“This is a map.” Jongin informs him, “it's a drawing of all the places the mapmakers, and therefore the explorers, know about in the world. This is where I come from, Bapuningu, see?” Kyungsoo leans in to get a better view, nodding.  
  
“I see. Where are we now?”  
  
“We… Are about….” He circles his finger around the blank space of unmarked paper to the south, “ _here_ , I think.”  
  
“There's nothing there.” Kyungsoo frowns.  
  
“That's because no one knows about this place. But when I go back home, it will be marked on everyone's maps. People will know that there's an island here.”  
  
“Why do you have to go back? Why can't you just stay here?” Kyungsoo wonders, eyebrows drawn into a harsh line. He grasps a handful of sand and lets it fall through his fingers. Jongin pauses at the question, half wanting to laugh at the absurdity of it but realising at the last moment that he's being sincere. It wasn’t a joke.  
  
“Well, to start with, I have to let the map makers know about this place.” Kyungsoo’s eyebrow twitches at this, and Jongin remembers that he didn’t seem fond of the idea the last time he mentioned it either. “And secondly, I have family back home. I need to let my mother, father and sisters know that I'm ok.” His stomach twists. They probably think he's dead. Anyone would assume so, after not hearing from them for so long; knowing his career. Over a week late is pushing it for even the best scouts.  
  
“Your mother and father?” Kyungsoo seems surprised, as if the idea of him having relatives hasn't occurred to him.  
  
“Yes, and my sisters. And my cousins. That means children of your parents’ siblings.” He tries to answer before Kyungsoo inevitably asks, but his explanation just makes him more confused. Jongin licks his lips, looking around for a stick or something he can use to demonstrate his point. There's one in the underbrush nearby, so he grabs that and begins to draw a circle in the sand, with lines coming off it, and more circles further on.  
  
“This is called a family tree. If this,” he points at one circle in particular, “is me, then this would be my 'aunt’.” He traces the lines through mother and father, naming each one, until he reaches cousin. The diagram seems to be working; Kyungsoo is looking less like he's going to burn a hole in the ground.  
  
“Do you have a mate?” Kyungsoo asks, agitated all of a sudden. Is he worried that Jongin would be missing them? He smiles softly.  
  
“A spouse? Or a partner. I don't have one, no.” He mumbles. Kyungsoo nods. “I was always far too busy with my work and flying around on Feiwol’s back, to meet anyone I wanted to be like that with.”  
  
Kyungsoo doesn't say anything for a moment, unreadable in his expression.  
  
“Show me more.” Kyungsoo says, scooting forwards to see better. Jongin smiles again and starts drawing more lines.  
  
Their conversation lasts for hours and leads on to other things; like marriage and family life. Jongin learns that dragons have similar views as humans about faithfulness, but only during mating season. Kyungsoo is shocked when Jongin tells him that humans often stay together all their lives, though not always, and falls into a contemplative silence afterwards.  
  
Jongin allows him the quiet time to think, sure that if he was Kyungsoo his brain would be overflowing with new information by now. He looks out to sea again and wonders when he'll ever be able to go home. He's starting to miss food cooked by his mother; rice and curry, the fried things from the street vendors and seasoned pork. The food here is alright, and he's found that Kyungsoo knows which plants can be used to enhance food. But it's just not the same as home. It's mostly felled birds, fish and fruits. No grains of any kind and it leaves him feeling hungry a lot of the time, even though his stomach is technically full.  
  
The sun is beginning to set, casting tangerine and pink light into the clouds, illuminating them from within and dyeing the water a myriad of beautiful colours. Jongin hadn't realised just how long they had spent here. They've been talking since morning.  
  
Suddenly Kyungsoo springs up, stretching out his stiff body. He does it in the most reptilian way his human body can manage, reaching out in front of him to his limit and then letting a ripple run through his muscular body to loosen him up.  
  
Jongin looks away, feeling like his thoughts were leading him astray for a moment. He shouldn't really be noticing how well sculpted the man's body is; it's hardly appropriate. Without consciously making the decision to, his gaze flicks to the man's crotch. Just for a second, less even, but the image is now imprinted in his mind.  
  
He clears his throat and blinks rapidly to take his mind off what just happened. Jongin meticulously rolls up his map and slides it into the canister, which he clips back onto his belt.  
  
When he looks up, Kyungsoo is on his feet, facing the shoreline. Jongin tries to look _past_ him and not _at_ him; but he can't help where his eyes stray. He clenches his fist, silently reprimanding himself for this stupid attraction and wishes he could control his urges better. He will be going soon, there’s no point in being attracted to the eccentric man raised by dragons, let alone falling for him.  
  
“I will go in the water.” Kyungsoo says, turning to Jongin in invitation.  
  
“You want to swim?”  
  
“Is that the word? Then yes; I want to swim. Do you want to swim as well?”  
  
“No, thank you.” Jongin declines politely, knowing that that would mean having to take his clothes off. _That_ would mean being naked with Kyungsoo, and it's more than what he thinks he could handle. However, he isn't prepared for Kyungsoo suddenly falling to his knees in front of him, leaning in close with imploring eyes.  
  
“Please?” He asks again. Jongin bites his lip, recognising this as a dragon interaction immediately, but freezing up. He should either back off or lean in close too, but he just sits there as still as a statue instead of making a decision. He holds his breath, staring into Kyungsoo’s unfathomably deep eyes sparkling with hope, and wilts.  
  
How could he say no?  
  
“Alright, I'll get my feet wet, but I'm not coming all the way in.” He compromises, leaning in just slightly so their cheeks brush before retreating hastily. Kyungsoo makes a happy sound and grabs hold of his hands to pull him upright.  
  
  
The images of last night are still fresh Jongin's mind, as he nibbles at the roasted carcass of a bird for breakfast. It's well seasoned but Jongin can't taste it at all. He sighs. What had he been thinking?  
  
Kyungsoo, naked and beautiful, glistening with water droplets in the sunset. Then later on, in the moonlight. If he had been with anyone else, he would have called the evening romantic, but Kyungsoo probably doesn't know the meaning of the word. Would he even understand the concept if he explained it to him? He sighs, picking the last bit of meat off the bone and tossing it to the pile beside him.  
  
Today he had woken with Kyungsoo nowhere be found and the dead bird lying beside him instead. It had been a shock at first, but he assumed that Kyungsoo had left it for him to eat. The mother dragon certainly hasn't tried to stop him from cooking it, so he assumes it was ok. He wonders where Kyungsoo is right now. Probably scaling a tree somewhere, looking for the tallest branch or the highest fruit to eat.  
  
This isn’t the first time Kyungsoo has brought him something like this, not by a long shot. Sometimes Kyungsoo will give him fruit, out of nowhere, or he’ll come back from somewhere in the wilderness and present him with something he’s killed. One time he gave him a pretty shell that he had found on the beach, with mother of pearl on the inside, which Jongin now keeps attached to his belt where his compass used to be.  
  
Jongin has studied enough dragon behaviour to know what this means, but he can’t bring himself to tell him to stop. For one thing, it would probably upset him. Just the other day, Jongin had told him to put some clothes on and he had flown into rage. Claiming that he didn’t see the importance of covering himself the way Jongin did. It had surprised him, as until then, Kyungsoo had come across very calm and collected. Since then, Jongin had taken to looking more closely at the man and had noticed that he was actually quite quick to anger, but usually hid it better. Or maybe the way he expressed it was more reptilian, so Jongin hadn’t noticed until then.  
  
Due to his upbringing, Kyungsoo also isn’t the most sensitive or tactful of persons. That’s not his fault though, and Jongin does his best not to hold it against him when he says things which would be rude back home. Like when he had bluntly told him that he was bad at climbing trees and that he should just let him get the fruit, as that would be faster. It was true, but he could have been nicer about it.  
  
Or when Jongin had said that he couldn’t wait to tell the map makers about the location of this island. Kyungsoo had become incensed, demanding that he keep this place a secret so more people didn’t come and jeopardise the safety of the island. He had a point, after all; if Jongin shared the secret, then they might have to find a new place to rear their young in peace.  
  
“If you bring _them_ to this island, I will end you. _All_ of you.” He had said, fire in his eyes. Now that he knew the words to say, it seems like nothing would stop him from speaking his mind. Jongin had clutched melodramatically at his chest, exclaiming that his words had cut him to the core. Poor Kyungsoo had believed him, taking his words literally, and wouldn’t believe otherwise until Jongin showed him his bare chest, completely unwounded.  
  
Just as Jongin finishes the last of his meal, a pair of small dragons burst out into the open, nipping at each other’s throats and growling with juvenile voices. He smiles; they’re just playing. It’s how they learn to fight as adults. These two dragons are a pair he recognises, from when Kyungsoo introduced him to the hatchlings he has to take care of. He wonders if that means the man himself is nearby as well and looks around to see if he can catch a glimpse of him. Maybe in a tree somewhere. Sure enough, there he is, half hidden by a bough of the tree as he peers round it to watch. Jongin waves to him and he ducks away.  
  
A moment later, he emerges from the foliage at ground level, looking sheepish. He’s trailed by another five smaller dragons, ranging from the size of Jongin’s fist to the size of a large dog.  
  
“Hello.” He mumbles, heading straight towards the two brawling baby dragons. He doesn’t interfere with them, instead just settling onto the grass next to him. He looks up at him every so often, but doesn’t say anything. His attention is directed towards entertaining the dragons, as it is his responsibility.  
  
It feels strange for him not to talk to Jongin, but he likes watching Kyungsoo interact with the hatchlings. It feels like a privilege to be able to see this, like Kyungsoo is deliberately showing him the best parts of living here. The smallest dragon crawls up Kyungsoo’s back and lays across his shoulder, making low whining sounds like a frog.  
  
Jongin contents himself with watching them play, sitting back and smiling to himself at their antics. Kyungsoo is crouching over them and bouncing around; rolling on the ground as the others scramble over him, nipping at him and growling rambunctiously.  
  
Some of the older dragons in the nesting ground turn to watch as well, seemingly amused by the playful little ones as Jongin is. He wants to draw this scene, but he already has several sketches of Kyungsoo taking care of the hatchlings and he’s running out of paper in his sketchbook. He’ll need to buy a new one when he gets home, he thinks. When he actually manages to get off this island, that is.  
  
Jongin wonders what Kyungsoo is saying when he growls and gurgles like that. Maybe he should try learning to speak dragon, the way Kyungsoo is re-learning to speak his language.  
  
It takes a lot longer than Jongin expects for them to get tired. Eventually the longest lasting dragon, one with the shimmering, feather-like scales, coils up to rest in the early evening sun. Kyungsoo falls back and stretches out, letting the shallow grass tickle his bare skin.  
  
Jongin clears his throat, unable to tear his eyes away. It had been fine while he was otherwise occupied; but now as he is lounging in the last remnants of light, he’s entrancing. The low hanging sun highlights all the dips and concaves of his muscular form and the way he’s still breathing heavily like this, his hair messy; he could be mistaken for having just finished something else.  
  
There is a tense few moments as Kyungsoo catches his breath, while Jongin keeps his lower lip clamped between his teeth to stop himself from thinking things he shouldn’t. Things like Kyungsoo lying beneath him as he kisses him up and down, and moans softly. He uses the pain to keep those thoughts at bay as best he can. He’s sure his face must be glowing pink by now.  
  
Kyungsoo sits up slowly, until he sits with one leg bent, elbow resting on it casually. He looks up at Jongin, strangely bashful.  
  
“Is everything ok?” Jongin forces himself to ask, staring pointedly at Kyungsoo’s face.  
  
“Yes.” Kyungsoo answers quickly. “What about you?” He asks in return.  
  
“I guess… I’m worried about my family. I think they probably miss me by now.” He confesses, trying to cover up for the fact that he was really just thinking about what Kyungsoo might look like during sex. It’s not a lie, at least. He _is_ worried about his family.  
  
“Your family? I think you worry too much about them. What’s so bad about staying here with me, anyway?” Kyungsoo grins brightly. Jongin gapes at him, wondering if he really thinks what he just said is ok. It stings, but Kyungsoo doesn’t know better, he tells himself. He counts to ten.  
  
“If you left your family behind, without them knowing where you are, wouldn’t _you_ feel bad?” Jongin asks, with as much patience as he can manage. Kyungsoo blinks, visibly taken about by Jongin’s attitude, which must be a little snappier than usual. He was already on edge with his stupid attraction, and now he’s homesick as well.  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t reply.  
  
Jongin sighs loudly and lets his head fall back. In all honesty, he misses his mother a lot more than he thought he would, his father too. He’s never been so far from home and he’s never been away for this long, without it being planned beforehand. He even misses his two older sisters, neither of which he has seen for almost a year. They are both married and have children now, busy running their own lives; but Jongin suddenly wants to see them more than anything. It’s a sick feeling in his gut, the thought that they probably assume him to be dead. He hates it.  
  
“I want to go home.” He mumbles. He loves exploring, he _does_ , but he also loves his home.  
  
Kyungsoo jumps to his feet and climbs the nearest tree, leaping across the canopy. Leaving Jongin to stare after him in surprise.  
  
Has he offended him? From the glimpse of his face, he had seen as he brushed past, he had seemed a little angry. He hadn’t meant to make him feel like he was second best, he just misses his own family.  
  
Now he feels even worse, tears pricking at his eyes. He wipes them away and holds his knees to his chest. It was only a matter of time before he got to this point, he thinks, sniffling. But what would Kyungsoo understand, anyway? He doesn’t even remember his real family and he’s never been away from the dragons, so he has no way of knowing what this feels like.  
  
A gentle cry from somewhere in the distance awakens the sleeping hatchlings, all of them galloping off towards their mother, leaving Jongin truly alone. He rests his face against his knees and feels sorry for himself.  
  
What he wouldn’t give for a hug from his mother right now, her warm spicy aroma engulfing him. To see his father leaning over a book that he’s been reading for a while, as his sisters gossip away. A plate of hot food made by Junghee, his oldest sister who makes the best noodles in the city, and a glass of beer brewed by his second sister Jihye.  
  
A sob rips through him. He should go and find Feiwol; he might be able to help him through this. He might understand just a little of what he’s feeling right now, despite not being human. Even when he had visited the northern city of Ollumsan for a month, he hadn’t felt like _this_. Because he knew exactly when he would be able to go home. Right now he’s stranded, without the faintest idea how long it will take to return.  
  
“Jongin?” Jongin looks up to Kyungsoo’s face, too close as usual and his heavy eyebrows drawn together in concern. Jongin wipes the tear tracks from his face with his hands and tries to breathe normally.  
  
“What?” He asks, horrified at how broken his voice sounds.  
  
“I-I... ” Kyungsoo pauses uncharacteristically, kneeling carefully down in front of him. “I’m sorry.” He pulls something from behind his back and offers it to Jongin. Confused, he takes it from him, the object cool in his hands.  
  
It’s a _rock_. A pretty rock, with a large vein of sparkling quartz running through it; but a rock nonetheless. Jongin barks out a laugh. An apology in the form of a shiny object; how very dragonesque.  
  
Kyungsoo watches him, nerves showing on his face, waiting for Jongin to say something.  
  
“Thank you, Kyungsoo.” He says, tracing the line of white with his thumb, “I’ll treasure it forever.”  
  
He smiles sadly at the dragon man and wishes he could have both him, and his family with him, at the same time. But he can’t see how that could happen, not when Kyungsoo so clearly belongs here. Fists clenching around his gift, he smiles as brightly as he can at Kyungsoo, his decision made.  
  
  
The sky is clear, the stars twinkling enticingly in the dark. Jongin tears through the foliage towards the meadow, where he knows Feiwol will be sleeping. All his belongings in his arms; his map, his riding gear and Feiwol’s saddle, his pack full of food, the shell and the quartz vein stone that he was given by Kyungsoo.  
  
He needs to get off this island as fast as possible. He needs to get away from Kyungsoo, before he falls for him completely. The sooner the better, like ripping off a band-aid; that’s why he’s sneaking away in the middle of the night.  
  
He had climbed over the man, as they lay side by side under the dragon’s wing, careful not to wake him. Then he slipped out into the air silently, creeping through the nests as quietly as he could; before he reached the edge of the jungle, then sprinting like his life depended on it.  
  
The jungle floor tries to trip him up at every opportunity until, frustrated, Jongin rips off his shoes. Carrying them in one hand as he races over sticks and roots, navigating in the dark using the skills Kyungsoo taught him.  
  
Pulling back a branch, he almost falls onto one of the sleeping dragons. He swears, and edges around it, darting in between the slumbering reptiles until he finds the one he’s looking for.  
  
“Feiwol!” He whispers harshly, shaking the dragon to rouse him. The great beast lifts his head and snorts, blowing hot air in Jongin’s face.  
  
“We need to go!” Jongin insists, pushing him until he almost rolls over. “Come _on!_ ” He exhales sharply and begins attaching the saddle to his back, clipping all the buckles he can get to without the dragon being stood up.  
  
“I don’t have time for this Feiwol, we need to get going before anyone,” _Kyungsoo_ \- “ figures out we’ve gone. Please!” He begs, shoving the stubborn dragon one more time. Feiwol doesn’t look impressed, but slowly gets to his feet. Jongin sags in relief and gets to work doing the last of the clasps, his fingers feverish.  
  
“Thank you.” He whispers, setting to work immediately.  
  
He’s just finished tying his pack down when he hears a noise behind him. He swivels round in shock and flinches. Kyungsoo is standing there, wraithlike in the moonlight, wordless. His stare pins Jongin down like a spotlight and he struggles to think of something to say, that isn’t ‘this is not what it looks like’; because it _is_.  
  
“Kyungsoo?” Jongin breathes, clenching his fists, “I-I...” The words won’t leave his throat, clinging to his insides like tar.  
  
“Why are you leaving?” Kyungsoo asks, the question coming like a shot to the heart. Jongin winces, opening his mouth and closing it.  
  
“I woke up to find you gone.” Kyungsoo says, voice cracking at the end.  
  
“Yes.” Jongin doesn’t know what else to say.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“I have to leave.”  
  
“Is it because I want you? If you don’t want me, then tell me; you don’t have to _leave _.”__ Kyungsoo cries, voice wobbling. Jongin can’t see his face, but he can only imagine his expression right now.  
  
“That’s not-” Jongin tries to placate him, raising his hand as if to touch him. Kyungsoo flinches from him.  
  
“Then why? You didn’t even wait to say goodbye, you’re running away like a thief in the darkness.” The accusation in his voice is heart wrenching.  
  
“Kyungsoo, I-I’m sorry, I just-”  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo sinks low into a crouch, baring his teeth. Feiwol curls around Jongin then, protective, and Kyungsoo backs away a little then stands up again. Trying to be more human. “Do you hate it here that much?” He spits.  
  
“No!” Jongin exclaims, a little too loudly. He covers his mouth, pausing for a tense moment to make sure none of the other dragons woke up. “No, Kyungsoo. I love it here, too much. I need to go back to my family, I need to make sure they know I’m ok.”  
  
“You could go home...and come back tomorrow?” Kyungsoo asks, tilting his head to one side. Jongin runs his hand through his fringe.  
  
“It doesn’t work like that, Kyungsoo. It’s very far away, maybe weeks of travelling. It’s unlikely that I would come back soon, or maybe even ever. I have things that I need to do when I get home; I have a job, I have responsibilities…” He trails off. Why is this so hard? He knew he shouldn’t have stayed, but he did anyway and now he can’t say goodbye properly. This is all his own damn fault.  
  
He flounders for something to say, to fill the silence that is quickly turning awkward. Nothing.  
  
“Can I come with you?” Kyungsoo breathes. Jongin freezes, shocked at the sudden vulnerability.  
  
“What?”  
  
“I could come with you. I am like you; I could live with other humans.” Kyungsoo becomes more sure of himself as he finishes his sentence. Jongin shakes his head, but Kyungsoo rushes to speak again before Jongin can reject him, “I want to learn more, I’ll practice human things! Please, take me with you!”  
  
“I thought you didn’t want to be surrounded by humans?” Jongin feels lost, unsure what is going on now. Every time Jongin had mentioned people before, Kyungsoo had seemed to hate it; he certainly hadn’t wanted people to come here to the island.  
  
“I will do it for you. I want to stay with you. I want you.” Kyungsoo says, resolute. Jongin leans against Feiwol, and groans. This whole situation is getting ridiculous and with his tired brain, he isn’t able to process everything as he should. But he knows that what Kyungsoo is suggesting would be a bad idea.  
  
“No. Not for me. I won’t take you for that reason.” Jongin says. He begins to unbuckle Feiwol’s saddle.  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“Because uprooting yourself from your family, from your home... for ‘love’; it’s silly. It will only end in tears. There has to be more to a decision like that, you have to think it through more.”  
  
“I have thought about it.” Kyungsoo argues, “I have thought about it for a long time. I want us to stay together. I can go, or you can stay; those are the choices.” Kyungsoo says. Jongin nods slowly; it’s beginning to look like those really are the only options.  
  
The saddle comes off in Jongin’s hands and he heaves it over his back, setting it down on the grassy floor gently.  
  
“I won’t leave yet. I’m sorry for waking you, Feiwol.” He pats the dragon’s neck, “Kyungsoo… let’s talk more in the morning. I’ll sleep here for tonight.” He says awkwardly, scratching the back of his head when it looks like Kyungsoo is waiting for him. Kyungsoo hovers for a few moments, as if wanting to say something else, before disappearing into the night. Jongin settles down next to Feiwol, ready to sleep out in the open air.  
  
He tries to fall asleep to the feeling of butterflies in his stomach.  
  
  
After Kyungsoo left, Jongin couldn't sleep for a long time. Somehow he had missed the implications of what Kyungsoo was saying while they were talking, or he had not registered it in the heat of the moment.  
  
Kyungsoo had admitted to wanting him. Maybe even, loving him. If he even knows what that means. Dragons do have a concept of love and courtship, of course, but Jongin couldn't be sure it’s the same as the way humans feel. But Kyungsoo loves him; which would make their feelings… What does he feel? Mutual. Maybe? Jongin doesn't know. Almost love… Could be love... If he allowed it to blossom.  
  
But the truth is that, Kyungsoo doesn’t need Jongin to stay here. He’s perfectly fine here with his dragon family; he’s survived here, for who knows how long until now, without outside influence and he can carry on living like this easily.  
  
Jongin sighs heavily as he wanders slowly between the trees, prolonging the journey until he reaches the nesting grounds, where Kyungsoo will be waiting for him. His head is hurting, both from the lack of sleep and from the sheer volume of thoughts inside it, all fighting for attention. Most of them revolve around Kyungsoo.  
  
His stomach growls, reminding him that he needs to eat too. Putting off his confrontation with Kyungsoo just a little while longer, Jongin plucks a tearfruit from a tree he just passed and pauses to eat it. Once he’s full, he can’t prolong his journey any more, so he wipes his sticky hands on his trousers and sets off again. Trepidation weighs him down.  
  
He tries to prepare what he’s going to say, but his thoughts are all scrambled. Does he even want Kyungsoo to come with him? Of course he does, he had been in anguish over leaving him behind. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to tell him no, when he seems to want to so much.  
  
Would Kyungsoo be able to integrate into society? He’s spent so long on his own; learning human behaviours well enough to fit in would be difficult, he’s sure. But at the same time, he seemed so determined. Maybe he would be fine? Surely Kyungsoo would have considered all this before; if he’d been thinking about it for some time, as he’d said.  
  
The only way he could find out is to take him. But what if he hated it and regretted coming? The thought makes his stomach churn. There’s so many ‘what if’s’ about this situation and things that could terribly wrong. Sure, Jongin could bring him back to the island if Kyungsoo wanted him to; but that wouldn’t be easy either.  
  
He tries to think of something less negative and his family springs to mind. Imagining Kyungsoo meeting his family brings a small smile to his face. What would they think of him? His sisters would find him fascinating, definitely. They would enjoy poking and prodding at him until he burst, then Jongin would laugh as they stutter and stammer under the heat of Kyungsoo’s anger. He could tear them to shreds in a minute, even with the language barrier.  
  
His parents, his father particularly, might take a little while to warm up to him. But Jongin thinks that they’d end up being good friends eventually. His father might oppose him at first, but only because he would do the same to anyone he brought home; from a far off land or otherwise. Jongin is positive he would love Kyungsoo as well though, as soon as he proves just how clever and quick witted he is. His mother would be quick to see his charms. They’ll all fall for him just as Jongin has.  
  
To tell the truth, he wants to stay with Kyungsoo. If he wants to come with him, even after he tried to run away from him last night. If he asks again, he won’t turn him away. Even though he’s scared, he’s willing to try.  
  
Suddenly, he’s on the outskirts of the nesting ground and it’s too late for him to turn around and avoid this altogether. He inhales through his nose and braces himself for this conversation. Stalking towards where Kyungsoo is probably waiting for him, with more confidence than he really has.  
  
Just as he predicted, Kyungsoo is crouched next to his mother dragon. His face dismal and his posture upset, as the dragon growls pitifully at him.  
  
As soon as he sees Jongin, he springs to his feet, dusting himself off like he’s seen Jongin do a thousand times and bounds towards him. Anxiety is plain on his face, a look that Jongin hasn’t seen on him before, and it doesn’t suit him at all.  
  
Jongin opens his mouth to greet him, but Kyungsoo raises his hand to silence him.  
  
“Before you speak, I want to show you something.” He watches him with tremulous eyes, waiting for Jongin’s response. He nods, a little confused, but can’t say no to him; not when he’s looking at him like that. Kyungsoo seems to sag a little and then, as he turns to walk away, he keeps shooting looks behind him to make sure Jongin is following.  
  
It doesn’t take long for Jongin to realise where Kyungsoo is taking him. It’s an obvious landmark further in the nesting grounds that he has found curious before, blackened and misshapen as it is. He’s never looked too closely at it, however, as he’s always been busy exploring the island with Kyungsoo and his own plans to return home.  
  
Kyungsoo stops to stand beside it and something in the man’s sombre face makes Jongin stay quiet. He examines the burnt, charred remains of what looks like a building, wondering what this could be and why Kyungsoo brought him here. Usually Kyungsoo only brings him to places he loves, like the beach or up into the trees.  
  
A glint of yellowish white against the black makes his eyes fly open and suddenly, the memory of Kyungsoo telling him how he came to be alone here comes flooding back to him. Covering his mouth with his hand, he looks closer, dreading what he might see.  
  
The skull stares at him with empty eye sockets and his eyes trail down to find the rest of the skeleton; the bones peeking out of several layers of grime. It’s Kyungsoo’s mother, or father, he’s sure of it. There’s a second skeleton beside it, this one much smaller. He blinks his eyes, trying desperately not to cry. Is that… Kyungsoo’s sister?  
  
He glances toward Kyungsoo, who is still staring at the wreckage, stone faced.  
  
“Is this…?” He can’t finish his sentence. Kyungsoo nods.  
  
“I want to find out why they came here. You are a rider, so you know where to look.” Kyungsoo says, not a hint of a waver in his voice. Without really thinking, Jongin reaches out and encloses Kyungsoo in his arms; pulling him into his chest. The other man tenses up for a moment, a little confused, but then hesitantly moves his arms to hug Jongin back.  
  
After a long silence, Kyungsoo shifts in his embrace, looking up at him with tired eyes; did he stay awake all night too?  
  
“Can I go with you?” Kyungsoo asks, barely a whisper, “Please. I want to know more, and I want to stay with you.” Jongin dips his head down to rest their foreheads together and hums ‘yes’.  
  
“Thank you.” Kyungsoo sighs in relief, eyes filling with moisture.  
  
“I shouldn’t have treated you like that.” Jongin mumbles, ashamed of his behaviour. His mother would happily beat him with a spoon for his wrongdoings. “I’m sorry about trying to run away last night.”  
  
“I forgive you.” Kyungsoo replies, blinking rapidly. He smiles up at him, “but I’ll hunt you if you try it again.” Jongin laughs at this, but doesn’t doubt him for second. He can easily imagine him enlisting one of the juvenile dragons here to take him flying after Jongin, at least for a little while. But he doesn’t think Kyungsoo really understands just how far they have to travel.  
  
Jongin looks over Kyungsoo’s shoulder and shivers. He drags Kyungsoo away from the remains, towards the clear spring that Kyungsoo had taken him to on the first day he arrived here.  
  
Kyungsoo’s dark eyes watch him, as if waiting for something, and suddenly Jongin doesn’t feel like waiting anymore. He leans down, pausing just before their lips connect to give Kyungsoo the chance to pull away. Kyungsoo holds still and then they’re kissing. It’s gentle and so innocent, the way their lips move in tandem. He hopes it’s good enough to be Kyungsoo’s first kiss.  
  
When he pulls away, it’s like the cosmos is reflected in Kyungsoo’s eyes. “What..?” Kyungsoo murmurs in wonderment.  
  
“Hm?” Jongin questions, mind still a little clouded from the feel of Kyungsoo’s soft lips against his.  
  
“What was that?” Kyungsoo reaches between them, touching Jongin’s lower lip with his index finger. Jongin stops short for a moment; is he being rejected? Before remembering that of course Kyungsoo wouldn’t know.  
  
“It was a kiss. It’s a uh… a sign of affection. But depending on where someone kisses you, it can mean different kinds of affection. What we just did is usually reserved for lovers. Mates.” He, corrects himself at Kyungsoo still inquisitive gaze. He kisses him again to demonstrate.  
  
“Oh.” Kyungsoo tries to stop his lips from curling up, but he can’t help it. He hesitates, but a moment later he reaches up to kiss him once; more of a peck than anything, but he seems so happy. Jongin can’t help himself from beaming back at him.  
  
  
Jongin shoves the last of the food inside the bag and attaches it to Feiwol’s saddle. Two arduous days have passed since they had fallen out and made up, and now they are almost ready to leave. Until now most of their time has been filled with heavy discussion, both about the specifics of the journey and how Kyungsoo should behave when they arrive there. Jongin has taught him a little about etiquette, but it might not be enough. The man’s face had fallen a little when Jongin said that he would always need to wear clothes to protect him from the cold and from judging eyes; but he had shaken it off admirably quickly.  
  
Jongin watches Kyungsoo playing with the baby dragons, for what is probably going to be the last time, and wonders if he’s having second thoughts. His fist clenches around a strap of leather and he tries to calm himself.  
  
He can only go through so much mental preparation for this journey. It’s going to be hard, undeniably so, but he and Kyungsoo both know that. They’re going to help each other through it, and tackle this together.  
  
The plan had been to leave early this morning, but the hatchlings had appeared out of nowhere and put an end to that. Kyungsoo had taken on the responsibility of distracting them so that they didn’t bother Jongin as he set up Feiwol’s saddle, or try to steal the provisions. He’s almost done now though, just a few more things to check off the list.  
  
“Jongin!” Kyungsoo calls out, holding a small amphibious dragon up in the air, its tiny feet scramble uselessly.  
  
“What?” He calls over his shoulder, trying to force a pack closed.  
  
“Come say goodbye! They’ll miss you too.” Kyungsoo beams. Jongin makes the mistake of looking behind him, where Kyungsoo is pouting next to the hatchling’s face. The hatchling looks totally oblivious, saliva trailing down from its long tongue, which is hanging out the side of its mouth, but he can hardly say no when Kyungsoo’s looking at him like that.  
  
Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Jongin heaves himself to his feet and makes his way over to them, perching on his knees. Before he could even utter a word, a wave of hatchlings bowl him over. It is only when Kyungsoo calls them away, after laughing, that Jongin is able to sit up in a daze, completely disheveled and semi covered in drool. Another dragon, red scaled and spindly legged, crawls onto his lap and makes itself at home there.  
  
Kyungsoo is still holding the slimy one and he pushes it closer to Jongin’s face until he is recoiling. Kyungsoo snorts,  
  
“You should say goodbye to Grrrr’m properly.” He teases, meaning he should say goodbye the dragon way. Jongin gives him a withering look, but Kyungsoo just raises his eyebrow. Jongin sighs deeply and, holding his breath, leans forward to brush his cheek against the side of the baby dragon’s face. He grimaces as he pulls away, a trail of mucus hanging between them. He resists the urge to shudder.  
  
“Bye… Groom.” He says with little enthusiasm, looking at Kyungsoo for his approval.  
  
“Grrrr’m.” Enunciates Kyungsoo slowly, to Jongin. They stare at each other for a second and Jongin gives in and makes some sort of strangled noise. It sounds nothing close but “Grrrr’m” seemed appeased and licks his face energetically.  
  
“Close enough! Good!” Kyungsoo chirps happily, falling back onto the soft grass.  
  
“Thank you... Kyungsoo,” he says, sarcastic, as he wipes the muck away. Kyungsoo tries not to laugh but fails, dropping the hatchling onto the soft ground in his mirth.  
  
In playful spite, Jongin crawls towards Kyungsoo, as if for a kiss. As soon as he is close enough, he smothers his slimy cheek onto Kyungsoo’s and laughs. Kyungsoo’s face is priceless, and Jongin wishes he had a way to capture it. Then Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at him, and he chickens out, knowing that Kyungsoo is stubborn willed and won’t let this go until he’s definitely won.  
  
“Okay, I think it’s time to go now.” Jongin says, standing up quickly and marching back to Feiwol, who watches his return with judging eyes. He wipes the rest of the dragon spit off his face ruefully, knowing that he’ll miss the hatchlings as well. Maybe he’ll try to visit the stables when they get home, and get to know the young dragons there.  
  
Kyungsoo joins him a few moments later, sidling up close to him so that their arms touch. Jongin smiles fondly, and finishes tightening the pull cord on the last stubborn bag.  
  
“Was there anyone else you wanted to say goodbye to?” Jongin asks softly, knowing that this is difficult for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo still doesn’t fully understand what it’s going to be like to miss them, so he’s treating everything a little flippantly, in Jongin’s opinion. Kyungsoo shakes his head.  
  
“I’ve already said goodbye to everyone.” He says. Jongin lets his hands fall from Feiwol’s saddle, and slips it around Kyungsoo’s waist. He immediately leans into his side, resting his head on Jongin’s shoulder like he’s done this before.  
  
“You don’t want to say goodbye one last time? You might never see them again.” Kyungsoo’s smile falters for a moment, but he shakes his head again.  
  
“No. It’s best if I don’t. Besides, we’ve all agreed that this is best for me: to live with my own kind. I will miss them, but it’s better if I go.”  
  
“I see.” Jongin half smiles. He must have already said goodbye to the dragon he called his mother for the last twenty years, without Jongin watching. He’s in the middle of feeling sorry for him when Kyungsoo shoves a handful of grass into his pants and runs away, chortling like a twelve year old.  
  
  
It’s early afternoon by the time they are actually ready to leave. There’s nothing else they can to put off going; even Kyungsoo is struggling to think of any last minute things they can do. All three of them head towards the beach on the north side of the island, feeling between them a mixture of sadness and excitement.  
  
It’s strange to see Kyungsoo wearing clothes. He’s borrowing a pair of pants that Jongin had forgotten he had packed, but he didn’t have a shirt he could lend him, so he’s flying topless. Jongin keeps having to double check that it’s all real, and not just his imagination, but it had taken a long while of persuasion to get him into them, so there’s no way it’s just a dream.  
  
“Ready to go?” Jongin asks, staring out into the horizon. Home is within his grasp, and his chest aches just thinking about it. Kyungsoo makes an affirmative noise somewhere behind him. Jongin mounts Feiwol, and holds out an arm to help Kyungsoo up. He ignores it, climbing easily up the dragon’s side and seating himself just behind Jongin.  
  
The dragon beneath him makes a sad sound, long and warbling.  
  
“I know, Feiwol, I know. I’m going to miss it here too.” Jongin sighs mournfully.  
  
Taking one last good look around the place he’s come to love, Jongin rubs Feiwol’s head and urges him into flight. They take off with a lurch, bounding over the soft sand and launching into the air. Feiwol’s two pairs of wings catch the air, shivering with the gentle updrafts and downdrafts, and they glide smoothly above the water’s surface. Jongin closes his eyes and pulls his goggles down, feeling the warm wind against his face. He had missed flying, but he’s almost certain that by the time they reach their destination he won’t want to fly ever again. For a least a little while  
  
It takes surprisingly little time for Kyungsoo’s island home to shrink into a tiny dot, then eventually vanish into the distance. Kyungsoo’s arms tighten around his waist.  
  
“You ok?” Jongin has to shout to be heard of the rush of wind.  
  
“I’ll be ok.” Kyungsoo calls back. Jongin purses his lips, and hopes that will be the truth.  
  
Neither of them say very much for a while, but that’s ok. Kyungsoo clings to him, arms wrapped around his middle, while Jongin looks over the map for the millionth time. He has the plan memorised, but he likes feeling prepared, especially since this whole adventure was unplanned in the first place. They’re heading straight for Bapuningu, but stopping off for one night at one of the larger islands, Erizan, along the way, to restock on food. And to get a little space from each other: riding together for such a long time is going to test both their patience.  
  
If everything goes smoothly, then they should reach Bapuningu in about three weeks, maybe even less. Finally, home is within his grasp. Excitement bubbles up inside him, and he looks behind him, grinning brightly at Kyungsoo.  
  
“I can’t wait for you to meet my mum!” Jongin shouts. He has to repeat himself for Kyungsoo to hear, his words stolen by the wind.  
  
“I want to meet her too. She must be wonderful like you!” Kyungsoo smiles back, nestling his chen in Jongin’s neck.  
  
“No! She’s a much nicer person than I am. And a fantastic cook! Oh, I’m excited to show you the food from where I come from too, I think you’ll like it.”  
  
“I remember some food from when I was little. My dad was good at making meat dishes.”  
  
“I’ll have to tell her to cook you kimchi jigae, it’s one of her best dishes!” Jongin licks his lips at the thought of tasting her cooking again, after so long just eating fruit and and fish. He might not touch fish in particular again for a long time.  
  
“You’re making me hungry!” Kyungsoo complains, pretending to bite at his neck. Jongin tries to ignore the hot flush that runs through his body at the gesture- he just meant it playfully, not in that way!- but it’s hard.  
  
“We just ate before we left!” Jongin teases.  
  
“I know, but it sounds so good. I want to try every food I can!” Kyungsoo exclaims, almost letting go of Jongin’s waist in his excitement. Jongin is glad that he doesn’t seem to be too upset. Yet, at least.  
  
“I’ll take you to every shop, I promise. You can try fancy food, street food, all the snacks, everything.”  
  
“If you’re with me then I’ll be happy.” Kyungsoo replies.


	3. Chapter 3

Night has fallen, and Kyungsoo is already asleep, leaning against Jongin’s back stiffly. Jongin had tied them together earlier, just in case, so he didn’t have to worry about him slipping off and being lost to the ocean.  
  
But now Jongin’s eyes were starting to droop, and his grip on Feiwol’s reigns loosening. He would need to go to sleep soon as well. Feiwol would probably be able to keep going on his own for a little while, but Jongin wants to stop for the night. He had only wanted to keep going until the stars came out so that he could make sure they were all going in the right direction.  
  
“Feiwol.” He calls out, conscious that he might wake Kyungsoo if he’s too loud, and he wants him to get as much sleep as he can. The dragon’s head bobs to show that he’s listening, so Jongin continues. “Feiwol, I think it’s time we rested for the night.” He says. “But be careful: Kyungsoo is sleeping.”  
  
The dragon’s wings, broad and beautiful, flutter slightly before angling downwards. They land in the water smoothly, barely nudging the slumbering man. Feiwol folds his wings away after shaking off the water droplets, and tilts his head back to look at Jongin. He snorts.  
  
“Good boy.” Jongin praises, reaching forward to rub his forehead. “You get some rest too, ok? We have a long journey ahead of us, and I don’t want you tiring yourself out.” Feiwol warbles sleepily in response, the sound seeming small in such an open space.  
  
Kyungsoo had been unnerved by the never-ending-ness of it. His whole world had existed of only the island, and while he’d stood on the beach and looked out to sea, or looked from the top off the mountain, actually experiencing the vastness of the sea was something else.  
  
Shaking his head, Jongin unbuckles himself from the saddle, and tries to find a comfortable position to sleep, without slipping off Feiwol’s back and into the water. After a little while of fidgeting Jongin concludes that there isn’t really a comfortable way to lie on Feiwol, not with Kyungsoo here with him, but at this point he’s tired enough not to mind too much.  
  
In the end he lays himself sort of on his back, with Kyungsoo on top of him, keeping him in place with his legs either side of his body. He links his arms around the other man’s torso, carefully making sure that he doesn’t fall.  
  
He’s never really seen him sleeping before: when he and Kyungsoo slept under the dragon’s wing, it had been to dark for him to see anything. In the dim glow of the gibbous moon above them, Kyungsoo looks pale and vulnerable, and his thick set eyebrows relaxed make him look a lot younger than he really is. Jongin finds himself staring for a moment, in awe.  
  
Kyungsoo chose to come with him. He chose _him_ over his home, over his family. It’s a bittersweet end, or maybe it’s just the start of a new part of their lives. For _both_ of them.  
  
“Goodnight Feiwol.” Jongin whispers, just before he submits to sleep, placing a kiss on the top of the other man’s head, “Night Kyungsoo.”  
  
  
The third day into the long flight was when things started to go downhill a little bit. Kyungsoo was getting restless, and so was Jongin. Kyungsoo was used to running around and climbing things, using up all his energy and playing to his heart’s content. But right now he was stuck in the same place, the same position, and clearly it was starting to get on his nerves. It wouldn’t be that different, living in the city. Would Kyungsoo get bored there too?  
  
They stop at least once a day, to eat and move around in the water (and relieve themselves, which they tried to do that with as much privacy as they could, given the situation) but it isn’t enough for Kyungsoo.  
  
“How far away is it now?” Kyungsoo asks for maybe the fourth time this afternoon. Jongin rolls his eyes, and tries not to let his temper get the best of him.  
  
“Kyungsoo, it’s going to take a long time. Weeks. We aren’t even halfway there yet, probably.”  
  
“But this is so _boring_.” Kyungsoo grumbles. He grips Jongin’s shirt, clenching and unclenching his fingers around the folds of fabric. Jongin had cleaned it, and all his clothes, before they left, but it’s already dirty again. The sea spray makes it stiff and uncomfortable.  
  
“I know it is.” Jongin grits his teeth. “That’s what travelling is like sometimes. You just have to find some way to entertain yourself.”  
  
“How?! There is nothing here.” Kyungsoo growls.  
  
“You could think of a game? Sing a song? Make up a story? Anything.”  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t reply for a long while, and for a moment Jongin starts to worry that he’s really upset him, but then he finally speaks up, his voice quiet next to Jongin’s ear.  
  
“I don’t know any stories. And we can’t play any games here.” He says sadly. Jongin frowns. He’d forgotten that: dragon’s don’t share stories the way humans do, for pleasure. And the games the hatchlings play are all rough and tumble, like practice fighting.  
  
“Hmm. I’ll teach you some.” His irritation melts away as he tries to think of a game they can play together, a simple one. I spy would be good, if they were near anything except water. Twenty questions? No, Kyungsoo might find that a little boring too. A word association game? That would be a good way to test how well the other man has picked up the language, but maybe not good for just entertainment.  
  
“How about this: I’ll say three things about myself. Two of them will be true, but one will be a lie. You have to guess which one is not true. Is that ok?”  
  
“Why?” Kyungsoo asks, thrown off by Jongin’s bizarre instructions.  
  
“Because it’s fun, listen. ‘Fact’ one: when I was little, I was scared of bugs. ‘Fact’ two: I can sing well. ‘Fact’ three: I really like you.”  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose. But he’s sort of smiling, Jongin can hear it in his voice, so he counts it as a victory.  
  
“You have to guess which one of the things I just said isn’t true.” Jongin encourages. “C’mon, I’m starting easy.”  
  
“Hm.” Kyungsoo carefully considers, and Jongin has to stifle a snort at how seriously he’s taking this. “I think the _first_ one was the lie.”  
  
“Nope! The second one was the lie; I’m a _really_ bad singer. But when I was little I was incredibly scared of bugs, so my sisters used to hide them in places where I would find them, to scare me. Back then I hated it, but in retrospect, I can see the funny side.”  
  
“Mean.” Kyungsoo snarls, squeezing Jongin’s waist. The small display of possessiveness makes Jongin smile.  
  
“Yeah, they said it was their ‘job’ as my sisters to pick on me. On the bright side, they never let anyone _else_ pick on me. The one time someone tried, “Jongin snorts at the memory, “they beat the kid into the ground. I forgave them for the bugs after that.”  
  
“Are they good now?” Kyungsoo asks, shifting to make himself more comfortable.  
  
“Yes, they’ve matured. Both of them are sweet and good natured now. Kind of. Actually, you still probably don’t want to get on their bad side.” Jongin remarks, thinking of all the times he’s said something to annoy them and been smacked with a spoon.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“I don’t mean to make you nervous; they’ll love you. Anyway, we digress. It’s your turn now. Think of some truths and a lie.”  
  
“Huh? _Oh_ , the game. Hmmmm.” It takes Kyungsoo a lot longer to think of things to say than it did Jongin, but he waits patiently in silence.  
  
Eventually, he speaks up.  
  
“‘Fact’ one: I played jokes on my sister all the time. ‘Fact’ two: before, I hated dragons. ‘Fact’ three: I got stuck in a tree and had to be rescued one time.”  
  
“I think the second one is the lie.” Jongin says, imagining a tiny version of Kyungsoo stuck in a tree and crying out for help, his heart clenching at the cute scenario. He had said that he was a naughty child, so he has no doubt that he pranked his sister as often as he could, and there’s no way he could hate dragons.  
  
“ _Wrong!_ ” Kyungsoo calls out. “I hated dragons when I was little, because it meant my parents paid _me_ less attention.”  
  
“Aww, poor baby Kyungsoo.” Jongin teases, laughing harder when he turns around to find Kyungsoo glaring at him. He was jealous of the dragons. Jongin almost coos at how cute that must have been for his parents; a sulky Kyungsoo at six years old, covered in dirt and glaring up at his parents with his tiny arms folded across his chest.  
  
“Stop it.” Kyungsoo orders. “ And I would never get stuck in a tree, Jongin.” He scolds, “ _Never_.”  
  
“Of course not, I’m sorry for even _thinking_ such a thing.” Jongin tries not to show that he’s laughing.  
  
“Good.” Kyungsoo sniffs. “It’s your turn again.” He says, leaning on his shoulder again. Jongin wrinkles his nose, trying to think of more events from his childhood. It’s harder than he thought, however, and it seems like now that he’s being put on the spot he can’t think of anything.  
  
“You know what, let’s postpone this game; we can carry on playing it later. How about we just ask each other some questions instead?”  
  
“Alright. What do you want to know?” Kyungsoo asks, nosing at the small patch of skin at Jongin’s neck.  
  
“Something I’ve been wondering for a while: when you think, do you think with _human_ words or _dragon_ words?”  
  
“I don’t understand.” Kyungsoo answers. Jongin wracks his brain for a way to explain this, without simply repeating himself. It’s not an easy thing to describe.  
  
“So when you aren’t saying anything out loud, when you’re just thinking in your head, is it with human language like we’re using right now, or with dragon language? With the growls and such?”  
  
“Oh.” Kyungsoo pauses for a moment, to think about it. Maybe he’s gathering up the words that he wants to use? “If I’m by myself then I am like a dragon, but when I am with you everything is with human language. And dragon language isn’t just growls and such. It’s mostly what your body says.” Kyungsoo primly informs him.  
  
“I know, I know. I was just wondering. But that’s interesting, that it depends on who you’re with.”  
  
“I guess.” Kyungsoo agrees half heartedly. “My question is… what are you afraid of?”  
  
“Oh, that’s a heavy one.” Jongin purses his lips, a little surprised. “Well, I guess I’m a little bit scared of the dark, but what I’m most afraid of is, uh... people forgetting me.” He confesses, sweating at the thought of his parents and friends moving on without him. It’s irrational, but true.  
  
“How could someone forget _you?_ ” Kyungsoo laughs, clearly finding the idea absurd.  
  
“I don’t know, Kyungsoo. That’s why I’m afraid of it, maybe.”  
  
“But you are so..unforgettable!” Kyungsoo insists. Jongin’s heart swells at the praise. “You are clever, and handsome, and kind- _no one_ can forget you.” Kyungsoo presses on, determined.  
  
“Thank you, Kyungsoo.” Jongin murmurs, resting his cheek gently on Kyungsoo’s head. Kyungsoo is unforgettable too. Even if he decides that he wants to move on and live without Jongin, he will never forget him.  
  
  
“Is that..?” Jongin squints into the bright light of the sunrise on the horizon. They haven’t been moving very long today, but he thinks that today might very well be their lucky day. “Kyungsoo, look!” He points at the speck in the distance.  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo blinks blearily, trying to focus.  
  
“It’s Erizan! This means we’re closer than I thought!” He bounces in his seat, alerting Feiwol, who roars in elation.  
  
“We are close to Bapunning?”  
  
“It’s Bapuningu,” Jongin corrects gently, “And not _close_ , exactly, but we’re more than half way now. We’re going to stop off here, and get some food like we planned. It should only be another few days after that.”  
  
“That’s good.” Kyungsoo says, smiling stiffly.  
  
“Are you ok with that?” Jongin asks, concerned at the man’s sudden change in attitude. Before now he had been eager to get there as soon as possible, but now he seems more reserved. Has he changed his mind?  
  
“Yes.” Is all he gets in reply. Jongin concludes that he must be nervous.  
  
“Alright. Well, we’ll be at Erizan pretty soon.” Jongin says, to fill the silence. Kyungsoo can plainly see that they’ll be there soon, so he needn’t have bothered saying anything. He sighs quietly, and contents himself with watching the silhouette of the island slowly come into view.  
  
Late afternoon, they breach Erizan’s airspace, a few striking green dragons making lazy circles above the island. They have to fly over the city to get to it, and Jongin hears Kyungsoo’s sharp intake of breath at the sight of the sprawling city. It’s developed a lot in the last ten years alone, so even if he had been here before now, Kyungsoo wouldn’t have remembered it like this.  
  
The island of Erizan is about as big as Jongin’s home town of Bapuningu, but only half of the landmass is actually populated. Jongin is careful to make sure they land on the quieter side of the island, by the bamboo forest. He considers landing in Erizan stables, but he thinks that Kyungsoo might not be up for that kind of business quite yet.  
  
Kyungsoo almost falls off Feiwol in his eagerness to touch solid ground again, moaning as he stretches muscles that have been locked in place over the last week and a half. Jongin laughs but is in the same boat, and he, too, has to spend a few minutes massaging himself before he can walk properly.  
  
Jongin unbuckles Feiwol’s saddle, and smiles as the dragon stretches himself out, blue wings shuddering as he folds them into his body.  
  
“I need to go and get some food. Do you want to come with me, or would you rather stay here with Feiwol?”  
  
“I… I will stay with Feiwol.” Kyungsoo decides, one hand on the creature’s neck. Feiwol tosses his head, dislodging Kyungsoo’s hand in the process, and stalks off towards the bamboo forest, disappearing immediately. Both he and Jongin watch him go, speechless.  
  
“Well then. Since Feiwol has snubbed you, do you still want to stay here?” Jongin tries to cajole Kyungsoo into coming with him: he’s been to Erizan before, and knows some places to get what they need. The marketplace is bursting with good things to buy, and Jongin would love to show them to him, even though he doesn’t have any money at the moment.  
  
“Yes.” Kyungsoo says, not looking at him. Is he nervous? Jongin sits next to him, but Kyungsoo still doesn’t look up. He draws in the soft dirt with his finger, repeating wavy patterns that look a bit like scales. Jongin’s heart squeezes. This is all so new to Kyungsoo; reality must be kicking in about how far from home he is now.  
  
“It’s ok if you don’t want to come with me right now, I understand.” He says. “It’s _scary_. I get that. But you will have to come with me and meet people when we get to Bapuningu. I won’t let you hide yourself away, alright?”  
  
“I understand. I will come with you, then, but...not today.” Kyungsoo’s shoulders are tensed, and every time Jongin moves to be in his line of sight, he avoids his eyes. Jongin sighs. How can he make him feel better, even just by a little?  
  
“Alright.” Jongin agrees, edging closer, “but you can’t let me leave without giving me a kiss, can you?”  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo turns around, a startled smile gracing his face. Jongin leans in.  
  
“I’m not going to see you again for maybe _hours!_ I’ll need a kiss to keep me going.” He puckers his lips up, waiting for Kyungsoo to give in. The other man raises an eyebrow, but indulges him.  
  
“You are so strange.” He says fondly, before kissing him a second time.  
  
“It’s worth it to see you smile.” Jongin says, congratulating himself for being so smooth as he gets up. “I’ll be back before nightfall, so don’t worry about me. Are you sure you want to stay here by yourself?” He asks, giving him one last chance to change his mind. To his credit, this time Kyungsoo takes longer to reply, but his choice is still the same.  
  
“Yes. I will wait here for you. Bring back good food, please!”  
Maybe it’s a good thing that Kyungsoo isn’t coming with him: the way he’s dressed, with his upper body on show, he’d be stared at and that would make him uncomfortable. Not to mention how jealous Jongin would get.  
  
Jongin salutes, before remembering that Kyungsoo won’t know what that means. “Of course!” He calls back, then he’s out of sight, heading towards the densely populated city area.  
  
The island and the city share the same name, as once upon a time, the locals had thought they were the only people to exist in the world. Jongin had laughed when he heard the story, but his history is not so different from theirs.  
  
The walk to the outskirts of the city is not long at all, and it feels nice to be walking on solid ground again after so long flying.  
  
Erizan City is busy, and Jongin can understand why Kyungsoo might not have wanted to dive head first into civilisation like this. But Bapuningu is bigger than Erizan City, and if this place makes Kyungsoo afraid, then he’s got another thing coming when they get to Jongin’s home. Jongin pushes that thought away: they can cross that bridge when they come to it. Right now he just needs to find somewhere that he can get money.  
  
Smoke hangs thick in the air, from the working dragons, and and the sides of the streets are littered with mess. _Ahh, civilisation_ , Jongin thinks, stepping over a heap of dragon dung.  
  
His first stop is the local mapmaker guild, who will have a record of his employment. They will be able to provide him with a small amount of money, enough to buy himself and Kyungsoo some food to last them the next few days, and maybe even some more clothes. And soap, if he’s careful with how he spends.  
  
The third person he asks actually gives him the right directions to get to where he needs to go, and he pushes the door open with confidence. He’s glad most people here speak the mainland language, otherwise he would have been screwed.  
  
“Hello!” He greets the old lady behind the desk cheerfully. She looks up from behind her thin spectacles suspiciously. “I’m a scout, but I was blown wildly off course on my return journey. Would you be able to help me out?”  
  
“Name?” She asks, probably used to hearing all kinds of tall tales from strangers off the street.  
  
“It’s Kim Jongin. I’m from the Bapuningu Guild- I might still have my ID, hold on.” Jongin rummages through all of his pockets, but comes up blank. It’s probably on his belt, along with his map and the things Kyungsoo gave him. Which are all with Kyungsoo. “Ok, I don’t have my ID on me at the moment, but my name is on the list, I promise.” He says sheepishly.  
  
The woman purses her lips, but turns to open the corresponding drawer under the desk, where all the files on current employees are kept. She flicks through each one, looking up at Jongin every so often, as if this is completely ruining her day, and making Jongin feel like he should have just flown straight over Erizan instead.  
  
“Ah. Here you are. Kim Jongin, scout for Bapuningu Mapmakers’ Guild. Twenty five. Flies on Feiwol, a blue eastern dragon, fourwing variety.” She looks him up and down, taking in his worn out clothes and long, unwashed hair. At least she seemed impressed by his dragon. She adjusts her glasses.  
  
“Yes, that’s me.” Jongin laughs uncomfortably under her scrutiny. It’s like those spectacles give her the power to see right through him.  
  
“What can we do for you, Mr. Kim?” She asks. Jongin blanches. How does she manage to make him feel like a thief, asking for money that is technically already his? It’s owed to him- he is allowed to claim a certain amount of money every year, in case of emergencies like this. He has never asked for anything before.  
  
“I was sort of hoping that I could make a claim..? I need to buy some food, and some other necessities, before I head on to Bapuningu.”  
  
“Indeed.” She replies, slipping his file back into the drawer and moving into a small room in the back. “As your file says you have never made a claim before, I am able to give you up to forty thousand Wen.”  
  
“Oh, I won’t need that much. Twenty thousand would be more than enough.”  
  
“Twenty thousand?” She confirms, pushes her spectacles up her nose once again.  
  
“Yes. Please.” He remembers to tack on the end. She seems pleased by his politeness, and pulls three stacks of coins out of a lockable chest, and puts them onto the tabletop.  
  
“Here you are.” She says, removing the small wire casing and letting the coins topple over into a pile. Jongin thanks her, and scoops them into his purse, thanks her again, and leaves, bowing.  
  
Well, that could have been worse, for his first human interaction in over a month- not including Kyungsoo, of course. Wiping sweat of his forehead, Jongin steps back out onto the street with a new level of confidence. In his head he makes a list of priorities: food is at the top of that list, so he looks for somewhere he can get cheap travel food, or something that will last a few days without going bad. They’d had to throw away some of the fruit, and Jongin doesn’t want a repeat of that. Maybe a bag of seed to nibble on, if he can find some.  
  
The whole afternoon, Jongin finds himself wishing Kyungsoo were with him. When he buys a selection of wrapped onigiri, with different fillings, he wants to ask Kyungsoo which ones he should buy most of. When he walks past the fountain in the centre of the city, he wishes Kyungsoo were here, so he could tell him he thinks the clear spring back on his island is prettier. When he enters a tailor's, he wishes Kyungsoo was there, so he could hold up different styles against him and choose which one suits him best.  
  
In the end, he picks a mixture of plain onigiri, and ones filled with salmon. And as for clothing, he opts for a simple design, just something that will cover Kyungsoo up in the cooler weather and keep him warm. He also buys a similar outfit for himself, so he can change out of his dirty clothes too. He knows Kyungsoo probably won’t like any of it simply on the grounds that it’s clothing, but he hopes he doesn’t hate it all the same.  
  
The tailor offers to dispose of his old clothes for him, clearly offended by their very existence, but Jongin declines. He wants to keep them for now. If only for sentimentality’s sake. The new clothes themselves don’t take long to make, as the designs Jongin picked only had to be altered a little from pre-made versions, not made from scratch. Hopefully the ones for Kyungsoo fit him ok; he tells the tailor to make one set broader in the shoulder, and a little shorter in the leg, but he isn’t sure exactly by how much.  
  
On the way back to the meeting place, some food stands catch Jongin’s eye. _Taiyaki_ , and grilled corn on the cob. Forcing himself to choose between the two proves impossible, so he just buys two of each, glad that he had been stingy with the onigiri earlier. Luckily, he still has a few thousand Wen left after he’s got everything; even the soap had been cheaper than he had expected.  
  
Both of the street foods are cold by the time he gets back to Kyungsoo, but they will probably still taste good, he reasons.  
  
“Kyungsoo?” He calls out, when he reaches the clearing he had left him at earlier that afternoon. The sun is setting and casting long, stretched out shadows of him and the small rocks strewn around.  
  
He can’t find Kyungsoo at first, and it’s not until he crawls out of the bamboo forest that Jongin sees him. “There you are!” He grins, dumping his things on the ground and rushing over to him. Kyungsoo wraps his arms around him sleepily. “Were you asleep?”  
  
“I _was_.” Kyungsoo says pointedly.  
  
“How was your afternoon without me?” Jongin asks, picking up some of the things he had dropped, and laying them out on the floor so he can show them to Kyungsoo.  
  
“I explored the forest a bit, but there was someone there, so I hid from them.”  
  
“Oh. What were they doing all the way out here?” Jongin wonders. Maybe some people like to live on the edge, away from the city. He’s a little sad that Kyungsoo felt that he had to hide from them, whoever they were, but maybe it was just because he’s alone.  
  
“I don’t know. They cut some of these, and then took them away.”  
  
“Bamboo harvesters.” Jongin nods, “Yes, that makes sense. They use bamboo to make a lot of traditional buildings here.” Mostly the houses along the beach; the majority of the buildings in the city are mainland style architecture these days.  
  
“Oh.” Kyungsoo looks at the bamboo stalks contemplatively, running his finger along the ridges. Jongin lets him think about it, and starts putting away the food for the journey.  
  
“Why are you wearing that? It’s different.” Kyungsoo asks, pinching the shoulder of his new outfit.  
  
“Oh, well, my old clothes were getting on a bit. They were dirty, and old. Don’t worry, I got you some new clothes as well.” Jongin unties the cord on the wrapping, letting the cloth fall from around Kyungsoo’s new clothes and ignoring how the man’s face had fallen at his declaration. “Here. They’re thicker, so they’ll be good to wear when we get to Bapuningu. Don’t worry, I won’t make you wear them right now, but I feel like you might want to wear them later. See, it’s woollen.”  
  
“What is ‘woollen’?” Kyungsoo asks, frowning. Jongin explains it to him as briefly as he can.  
  
“...so it means that it keeps the heat in better. _Oh!_ I almost forgot: I bought food for us!” Jongin scrambles to reach for the grilled corn, wrapped in a few layers of paper that the oil has leaked through. He hands one to Kyungsoo excitedly.  
  
“What is this?”  
  
“ _Tomorokoshi_. Try it, it’s so good.” Jongin says, his mouth already full of corn. Kyungsoo hesitantly takes a bite. He doesn’t seem to like it quite as much as Jongin does, but he finishes the whole thing dutifully. He seems to like the fish shaped cakes a lot better, devouring his within minutes and unsubtly watching Jongin finish his own. It makes him glad that he chose the sweet red bean filling, over the savoury cheese option.  
  
“Next time, you have to come with me. Then I can get you food that you like, ok?”  
  
“Ok.” Kyungsoo agrees, with less reluctance than before. Jongin nods, and scoots over next to him, both of them leaning against Feiwol’s saddle.  
  
“It’s funny, my friend Sehun doesn’t like grilled corn either, but I love it. I guess it must just mean that you guys are both weird.”  
  
“ _You_ are weird.” Kyungsoo counters, side-eying him playfully. Jongin dramatically clutches his chest, falling to the side.  
  
“You wound me.” He cries. Kyungsoo just watches, then shakes his head, turning his nose up at Jongin’s antics.  
  
“I know it’s a lie.”  
  
“Yeah, _this_ time.” Jongin teases, thinking back to the last time he had been melodramatic like this. Kyungsoo scowls at him with disgust.  
  
“You are annoying.” He mutters. Face softening, Jongin sits up and places his palm on his shoulder, making Kyungsoo look his way. He prepares his expression well, overdoing his pout until he looks ridiculous, and holding out his hand like he’s the star of a play.  
  
“And yet, you travelled so far to be with me; the person you find so annoying.”  
  
“The most annoying person in the world.” Kyungsoo agrees, smiling now.  
  
“Will you let the most annoying person in the world kiss you now?” Jongin asks hopefully, barely waiting for Kyungsoo to nod before claiming his lips. Kyungsoo’s arms make their way around Jongin’s neck, fingers tangling in his hair. Jongin allows his mouth to fall open, and moans when their tongues collide.  
  
Lightning sparks between them, Kyungsoo arching against Jongin as his hands trail down the other man’s bare back, and he has to hold himself back from going any further. Not until Kyungsoo is ready. He pulls away slowly, laughing as Kyungsoo follows him, unwilling to let him go just yet. Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open.  
  
“I’m glad you chose to come with me.” Jongin whispers. “And I’m sorry you had to give up so much for me.”  
  
“I chose you. Don’t be sorry.” Kyungsoo smirks, “And I didn’t come _only_ for you. I want to know more about my parents, and I want to become a better human being.”  
  
“True, true.” Jongin concedes, eyes flicking to Kyungsoo’s pinkened lips, barely visible in the low light.  
  
“But mostly for you.” Kyungsoo agrees, pushing himself up on his knees to clumsily kiss him again. This time it is slower, more like lava flowing under their skin, than sparks. Jongin wants to savour every last moment of it.  
  
“Kyungsoo,” He mumbles between kisses, “I think we should go to sleep.”  
  
“I don’t want to sleep yet.” Kyungsoo complains, silencing Jongin efficiently, and pushing him back until he’s laying on the ground. Jongin supposes they can wait a little longer before sleeping; it wouldn’t delay their journey _that_ much if they woke up a little late the next morning.  
  
  
They reached the mainland yesterday, marking their eighteenth day travelling. “There is so much!” Kyungsoo had said when he saw it, the never ending land quickly replacing the never ending sea.  
  
The ground is sectioned off into squares, and flooded, so that rice can grow there, and sometimes they see people out in the paddies, tending to the rice which is growing in orderly lines. The patterns mess with Jongin’s eyes as they fly by so fast. Breaking up the vast amount of space, occasionally there are small villages, made up of only a few streets. The people that live there look up when they see them flying overhead, not used to seeing a dragon as beautiful as Feiwol. Local dragons only have one pair of wings, to start with, and are very rarely anything other than red.  
  
It hadn’t been difficult to find a place to spend the night: a quiet field just outside a village, not in use at the moment. Jongin had thought about doing that again tonight, but he wanted to introduce Kyungsoo to some people, and allow him to talk to someone without there being too much pressure. That’s why he is landing next to an inn, and trying to encourage Kyungsoo down from Feiwol’s back.  
  
“Come on, Kyungsoo. I’ll be right next to you the whole time- don’t you want to sleep in a bed?”  
  
“I don’t want- I don’t know.” Kyungsoo looks warily between him and the building behind them, where a few people are peering out of the window inquisitively, wondering what’s going on.  
  
“Please?” Jongin asks, holding his arms out for Kyungsoo to drop down into them. Sighing, Kyungsoo does just that, allowing Jongin to catch him.  
  
“There we go.” He says, putting Kyungsoo down in front of him carefully. He quickly skitters around to stand behind him, hiding from the onlookers. “Do you want to put on your new clothes? Might get cold.”  
  
“Ok.” Kyungsoo agrees easily, eyes flicking over towards the people watching them. He puts it on, and Jongin compliments him, “It looks good on you- I made a good decision picking that one.”  
  
Kyungsoo then refuses to let Jongin move farther away from him than arm’s length, following him around like a lost puppy as he unsaddles Feiwol, and leads him around to the back, where the stables are. The owner of the inn goes with them, amicably telling him about the charges for one night, one room or two? Would you like us to feed your dragon for you? He is truly a magnificent beast.  
  
It’s funny, how Kyungsoo won’t leave him alone throughout all of this, clinging onto his arm. Jongin just wants to hug him; back in his element, Kyungsoo had been brash and vibrant, but here it’s the other way around. It won’t take long before Kyungsoo’s real personality shines through, he reasons.  
  
“It’s ok, Kyungsoo. You’re doing _fine_.” Jongin reassures him once the innkeeper is gone, pressing a kiss to his forehead.  
  
“I don’t know what to say to them.” Kyungsoo confesses. “This is more difficult than I expected.”  
  
“You don’t need to say anything. Were you able to understand what he was saying? I know his accent is a little strong.”  
  
“I understood some of it. What is ‘going rate’?”  
  
“Oh, that just means what most people want their customers to pay. But see? You understood him, that’s good!”  
  
“I suppose.” Kyungsoo frowns, still insecure about his speaking skills.  
  
“Listen, Kyungsoo; not even people who have been speaking this language their whole lives understands everything. I have to ask people what they mean sometimes. I don’t know every word, and no one ever will. You’re doing _great_.”  
  
“Thank you.” Kyungsoo replies, hiding his face from Jongin so he can’t see the tears gathering in his eyes.  
  
“You don’t need to thank me. Now, shall we go and ask for some food?” Jongin guides Kyungsoo back around to the front of the inn, saying goodnight to Feiwol quickly. The dragon wuffles in response, making himself busy eating the hay laid out for him.  
  
“Ok.” Kyungsoo agrees. “What do I say?”  
  
“First we have to ask them what they have, but I’d like meat. Wouldn’t you?” Jongin asks, as they enter the bottom floor of the inn. It’s a little early to be serving evening meal, but he hadn’t been sure when they would next fly over a village.  
  
“Good evening!” Jongin greets, the man from earlier and a woman who is presumably his wife, both kneeling on thin cushions. Jongin toes his shoes off, and leaves them by the entrance, and then cringes looking at Kyungsoo’s filthy feet.  
  
“Ah. We might have a problem.” He had forgotten to buy shoes for Kyungsoo in Erizan. “I’m sorry, but do you have a cloth he can clean himself with?” Jongin wonders, bowing to the owners of the inn. The woman scurries off quickly to find something for him to use, while Kyungsoo’s eyebrows sink lower and lower on his face in confusion.  
  
Jongin has just finished explaining that they shouldn’t get the clean floor dirty when the woman returns with a damp rag. Pushing Kyungsoo down to sit on the step, Jongin cleans Kyungsoo’s feet for him. It doesn’t take very long, as they’re only a little bit grimy, but the innkeepers very pointedly don’t watch as he washes them.  
  
He hadn’t realised just how intimate this action appeared until he looks up, the other man staring down at him lovingly, and making his heart race. He’s never been on the receiving end of that kind of look before, only seen it with his sisters and parents. He chuckles awkwardly and rubs the back of his head, trying to divert Kyungsoo’s intent gaze before his heart explodes.  
  
“There, all clean now.” He says, standing up and holding out his hand to help Kyungsoo up as well.  
  
“Thank you.” Kyungsoo whispers, just for Jongin to hear. “Shall we sit here?” He asks, gesturing politely to one of the empty tables. They all have a grill in the middle, and a set of tongs next to the chopstick boxes.  
  
“Oh, you may sit anywhere you like, my dears.” The innkeeper’s wife chirrups. “What would you like?”  
  
“We want pork, please!” Jongin says, “enough for two.”  
  
“You want to use the barbeque?” She asks, smiling. Jongin nods eagerly, ready to taste grilled meat again after so long. “Alright, I’ll go fetch some meat, and side dishes- do you want everything?” Jongin nods again. “Of course; that will be four thousand Wen. We don’t have a dragon here, unfortunately, so you’ll have to start the fire by yourselves. There are flintstones just by the burner.”  
  
“That’s fine!” Jongin appeases her, settling down with Kyungsoo by his side, “we don’t mind.”  
  
The woman bows once again, and promptly scurries off into what Jongin guesses must be the kitchen. He gets to work quickly on lighting the coals in the small firepit, with Kyungsoo watching him intently.  
  
“We have to cook our own food at these kinds of places,” Jongin explains when it looks like Kyungsoo is about to ask, “sometimes they bring it out completely ready for us to eat, but sometimes it a group effort.”  
  
“Oh. Is it good this way?”  
  
“Yes, I always love barbeque. Look, here comes the side dishes.” The innkeeper comes by with several bowls filled with pickled vegetables and a plate of large lettuce leaves. “Watch me, I’ll show you how to eat it. Have you ever used chopsticks before?”  
  
“Of course I have.” Kyungsoo says, “When my parents were alive, we ate rice all the time.”  
  
“Oh, really?” Jongin asks, suddenly curious; as far as he could tell, rice didn’t grow anywhere on the island naturally, and it wasn’t even the right kind of climate for it. Where did the rice come from?  
  
“Yes. I can use chopsticks.” Kyungsoo confirms, picking them up easily and selecting something with them. He holds it out for Jongin to eat, completely unashamed. Jongin’s eyes flick towards the kitchen door before he leans forward to eat the pickled radish Kyungsoo is giving him, cheeks colouring. He hadn’t predicted how flustered he would get, acting like this with the possibility of an audience. And Kyungsoo is a natural, not even noticing that there’s anything to be embarrassed about.  
  
The innkeeper’s wife comes back out with a platter of meat, a bowl of seasoning and a pair of scissors, and lays the pork onto the grill, snipping it up into bite sized pieces after dipping it in the seasoning. It sizzles deliciously, and Jongin’s stomach growls in anticipation.  
  
“Here you go.” She says jovially, “call me if you want any more, ok?”  
  
“We will do!” Jongin agrees, turning over some of the meat already. Kyungsoo looks hypnotised by it, and Jongin can’t wait to see his face when he actually tries some of it.  
  
When it’s cooked through, he takes a leaf, places the meat on it, and then loads it up with bean sprouts and and kimchi.  
  
“You have to eat it in one bite, like this-” He folds it up and shoves the whole thing into his mouth, his cheeks puffing up like a hamster. Perhaps he went a little overboard filling this one up, but he doesn’t mind looking a little silly in front of Kyungsoo when it means he looks at him, eyes sparkling with laughter.  
  
“Let me try!” Kyungsoo exclaims, grabbing for a leaf and copying him, down to the amounts of fillings he used. His mouth is even smaller than Jongin’s so he looks even sillier with his cheeks full, but he lights up when he starts chewing.  
  
“Good?” Jongin asks, knowing the answer is ‘yes’. Kyungsoo’s only response is a moan, before he reaches for another leaf, filling it up before he’s even finished the first one.  
  
  
“There it is- can you see it?” Jongin shouts, pointing down towards a large building on the edge of the city of Bapuningu, where it borders on field upon field. It’s the dragon stables, where the dragons sleep and are cared for, and where he’s headed first.  
  
“That is where you live?” Kyungsoo asks, pushing Jongin aside to get a better look.  
  
“No, this is where Feiwol lives when we aren’t flying. I live on the edge of the city itself, back that way.” He points vaguely behind him.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“We’ll just let Feiwol into his stable, so he can get comfortable, then we can to to my home, ok?” Jongin says, resting his hand on Kyungsoo’s, around his waist, and squeezing.  
  
“Ok.” Kyungsoo says, voice small.  
  
Feiwol starts a lazy downward spiral when they get close enough, angling sideways so that Kyungsoo almost squeezes the life out of Jongin to stay on. As the stables come into view, getting larger and larger, Jongin notices that a small crowd of people is gathering. Some of them are pointing at them, and waving their arms.  
  
Kyungsoo must have noticed them too, as he peers over Jongin’s shoulder. “Who are they?”  
  
“Other scouts. I think I see Baekhyun down there- cover your ears- _Baekhyun!_ ” He yells, and a ripple of cheers goes up among the crowd. Jongin grins, waving enthusiastically.  
  
The moment Feiwol touches down, they are swarmed with people, some he knows and some he’s never seen before, all of them wanting to know where he’s been and why he’s more than a month late for his check-in. He thinks he sees money being passed around, so someone must have made bets on whether he was alive or not.  
  
“Ok, ok, back off!” Jongin laughs, kicking some of them away playfully, “I’ll tell you everything, let me just get Feiwol comfy.”  
  
“Who are you?” Someone asks Kyungsoo directly. The man’s fingers clench around Jongin’s shirt, pinching his sides. Jongin nods.  
  
“I’m K-Kyungsoo.” He says, loud and clear. Jongin beams at him, proud. A few of them greet Kyungsoo, including Baekhyun, who has fought his way to the front of the crowd and is holding out his hand expectantly.  
  
“I’m Baekhyun, it’s nice to meet you!” He says. Kyungsoo just looks at him, confused. Baekhyun puts his hand down, unaffected by the cold reception, and looks to Jongin.  
  
“Where-”  
  
“Ah-ah-ah!” Jongin cuts Baekhyun off, “We’ll tell you all about it, but Feiwol needs to rest first.”  
  
“Alright, alright, fine.” The other man agrees. “Wow, Sehun is gonna be so pissed he missed this.”  
  
“Where is Sehun, by the way?” Jongin asks, already having noticed that he isn’t here.  
  
“Scouting. He’s due back in two days, but who knows? Maybe he won’t come home for a year.” He teases. Jongin makes a rude gesture at him, and urges Feiwol forwards, headed towards his stable. They leave the crowd of people behind with a promise to tell the tale of his long absence after he’s reported in at the guild headquarters, but Baekhyun follows them anyway.  
  
He wastes no time in showering them questions about Kyungsoo that are hard for him to answer. Where did he come from? Somewhere south. How far south? Kyungsoo doesn’t know. What does he do? Kyungsoo shrugs. Why is he here? To be with Jongin, and also to find out more about people. What did he mean by that?  
  
“Baekhyun! I said we’d tell you everything later.” Jongin has to cut him off again. He hops off Feiwol, and offers his arms to Kyungsoo again, but he skitters down the side with agility he’d almost forgotten he possessed.  
  
“Ok, _fine!_ I’m just trying to be nice.” Baekhyun sulks. “I’ll save it for later, I swear, but can I please just ask one more question?”  
  
“You just did.” Jongin snarks, causing Baekhyun to start spluttering indignantly at him.  
  
“I wasn’t talking to you! I meant for Kyungsoo.”  
  
“Yes?” Kyungsoo asks, curious now.  
  
“Why did you choose an idiot like _him?_ ” Baekhyun, laughing hysterically now, points at Jongin, who is severely unimpressed with Baekhyun’s joke. He folds his arms and waits for Kyungsoo to speak up on his behalf, prepared to hold him back if necessary.  
  
“He is _not_ an idiot. But you seem to be- why are you like this to your friend?”  
  
“Oh, ouch!” Baekhyun answers, still chortling. “I’m just messing with you. I love him really, and he knows it.” Jongin punches him, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough for him to complain. Loudly. “Now look who’s being mean!” He whines, pretending to kick Jongin’s shins. Before this develops into a full on fight, and Kyungsoo gets the wrong idea, Jongin raises both hands.  
  
“Baekhyun, you want to meet us tomorrow sometime instead? I’m not sure how long everything at the guild will take, and I have to go home of course.” Jongin placates, thinking of his mother finding out. His heart tugs.  
  
“Are you trying to get out of going drinking?” Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him.  
  
“No!” _Yes_. “It wouldn’t exactly be great for us to go out the night we arrive here, would it? My family still don’t know if I’m alive. I promise, we’ll see you tomorrow.”  
  
“That sounds like a load of excuses to me.” Baekhyun teases again.”I better see you tomorrow, and you Kyungsoo.” He points at the man, who is staring at Baekhyun, totally bewildered. What must he think of his friend? Jongin shakes his head, smiling ruefully.  
  
“We’ll be there, name the place.”  
  
“The Horned Serpent. Near that pharmacy that had the dragon wreck it last year?  
  
“I know the place.” Jongin nods, “We’ll see you tomorrow then.”  
  
“You mean you’re going already?” Baekhyun gasps, “You didn’t even properly say hello yet.”  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Come here.” Jongin holds his arms open for Baekhyun to hug him. Baekhyun steps forward, embracing Jongin tightly. Despite how much he jokes around, it’s obvious that Baekhyun had missed him while he was gone.  
  
“I’m glad you’re back.” He says, changing the tone to a more sombre mood. “A lot of us were worried that you really were never going to come back.”  
  
“Well, I’m here now.” Jongin reassures him, squeezing Baekhyun back just as tightly. “I’m back, and everything is fine.”  
  
“If only Sehun were here, then this moment would be perfect.”  
  
“Are you crying?” Jongin asks, awed. He’s never seen the man cry before. Usually he’s a little spitfire, using his outgoing attitude to distract from his less-than-ideal height.  
  
“No.” Baekhyun sniffs.  
  
“Yes you are!” Jongin gasps, pulling away and trying to hold in his laughter, “Aw, big bad Baekhyun is secretly soft on the inside!”  
  
“Shut up.” Baekhyun pulls away from him. “Kyungsoo, tell your man to stop picking on me.”  
  
“He is not my man.” Kyungsoo looks at Jongin, thoroughly confused. Jongin sags against his friend, then, seeing how Kyungsoo’s eyes flick between their casual touch, pulls away a little. Maybe he should go easy on Kyungsoo for now; he must be very thrown off by the sudden onslaught of, well, _Baekhyun_. He can be quite a handful.  
  
“Not in a literal sense, Kyungsoo. He means it like in the sense that we are lovers.” He explains, reaching for his hand to hold.  
  
“Ah! He finally admits it!” Baekhyun squawks, his eyes still damp. “All these years of us trying to find someone to set you up with, and it takes a man from the wilderness to pin you down!” Baekhyun doesn’t know just how right he is.  
  
“Kyungsoo is special.” Jongin agrees, a bashful smile creeping onto his face as he looks at the man in question. Kyungsoo’s cheeks bloom pink under the attention. Baekhyun makes a disgruntled sound from beside him, nudging Jongin away.  
  
“I should have known that you would be the mushy type when you’re smitten.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. He gestures to Feiwol’s saddle, still full of their belongings. “Get on with it, then. I’m sure you have places to be today.”  
  
“Oh, yeah.” Jongin crouches to pull out a few of the more important things, like his sketchbook, map, and the things Kyungsoo gave to him. “We should probably head off.”  
  
“Not without one last hug- you too Kyungsoo, get in here.” Baekhyun beckons him, and he comes closer with only a little hesitation. Jongin’s friend draws both of them into a hug, “I’m glad you’re safe.” He says. “And I’m glad you’ve found someone."


	4. Chapter 4

Walking up the stairs to Jongin’s apartment, to meet his family with Kyungsoo in tow, is one of the most nerve-wracking things he’s ever done. Kyungsoo’s hand is just as clammy in his, and he hesitates when knocking on the door, unsure what he’s going to say to the person who answers.  
  
‘ _Hi, mum. Guess what? I’m not dead!_ ’ just doesn’t seem to cut it.  
  
On the way there, Jongin had stopped to buy Kyungsoo some shoes, thin comfortable leather ones that won’t get in the way too much, like Jongin’s flying shoes. Kyungsoo doesn’t hate them, but Jongin gets the impression that he doesn’t much like them either, by the way he wriggles his toes in them.  
  
Jongin also wondered if they should find somewhere to cut their hair for them, but he doesn’t have enough money left. He would love to be as presentable as possible to meet his parents, his mother in particular, but he had only been able to afford the shoes with a loan from Baekhyun. In the end, he decides against haircuts- he can save that for another day.  
  
As it is, the sun is already setting from the amount of time they’d spent trying on shoes and walking through the city to get here. Jongin had forgotten how long it takes to get anywhere on foot.  
  
“Jongin? Are you ok?” Kyungsoo asks, tugging gently on his hand, which is still encased in his own.  
  
“Yeah, uh. I’m fine.” He clears his throat, fist poised to knock on the door. He’ll knock in just a moment. He just...needs to prepare what to say first. That’s all.  
  
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Kyungsoo asks again, worried.  
  
“Yeah, I just. I don’t know what I’m going to say.” Kyungsoo huffs at his response, and knocks on the door before Jongin can stop him. His stomach falls through the floor, though he couldn’t say exactly why he’s so nervous. It wasn’t as if anyone is going to be angry with him for disappearing for so long; it’s an occupational hazard.  
  
“Coming!” Jongin’s mother’s warm voice can be heard from within. Kyungsoo grins, bouncing on his toes. The door opens with a _kchnk_ and reveals Jongin’s mother, short but capable looking, her hair tied up in a bun on the top of her head.  
  
“Jongin?” She asks, eyelashes fluttering in shock and arms hanging limp at her sides. “Jongin!” She dives forwards, almost knocking the man off his feet in her embrace. She pulls back, cupping his cheeks in her hands, smiling with dewy eyes. “I was so _worried_ about you!”  
  
“I’m sorry mum, there was a storm, and-”  
  
“Jaesuk! Come here, our Jongin has come home!” She yells, not allowing him to finish. It looks like he needn’t have worried so much about what to say- he can’t get a word in edgeways. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe!” She cries, squishing his face between her hands. He leans into her touch, feeling like a child again.  
  
“Jongin is home?” His father emerges from inside the apartment, face alight with excitement as he hobbles as fast as his gammy leg will allow him to. He joins the hug too, his long arms looping around the both of them, caging them in. “Good to see you safe and sound, Jongin.”  
  
Jongin had promised himself that he wouldn’t cry at the reunion, but he finds his eyes prickling anyway. It finally hits him just how much he had missed them. As far as he travels, he always comes back home in the end.  
  
“We were both so worried about you. You’re almost two whole months late, young man.” His mother scolds through her tears. “What on earth took you so long?”  
  
“Well, like I said before, there was a storm. It blew me off course by a long way, further than I’ve ever flown before. It took me to an island in the far south, where I met Kyungsoo.” He tilts his head to where Kyungsoo is, still standing awkwardly.  
  
“Oh, my dear! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!” She lets go of Jongin instantly, instead fussing over the man before her. “How about we all go inside, and your dad can make some tea?” She says, already bustling into the apartment. Jongin’s dad shrugs, following her inside happily, heading for the kitchen to boil some water.  
  
They leave Kyungsoo and Jongin outside for a moment. Kyungsoo hasn’t said a word yet.  
  
“Ready to go in? I promise, they’re not this manic all the time. Well, my mum is, but you’ll get used to her, I promise.”  
  
“Ok.” Kyungsoo nods, following Jongin inside. Jongin’s home smells just as he remembers it, smoky from the fire and of fruity wine. He takes a seat of the floor, with his mother, and makes sure Kyungsoo is sat close enough that they touch.  
  
“Now then,” Jongin’s mother begins, “how about you tell us everything.” She encourages. Jongin does just that, sometimes letting Kyungsoo take over to tell his parts of the story. His father comes in about halfway through the tale, with a teapot and four teacups on a small tray, and the story stops while he pours tea for everyone. Kyungsoo takes one sip of his and Jongin can instantly tell he hates it, so he has to hide his smile behind the rim of his cup.  
  
The story resumes, and Jongin’s mother nods and _oohs_ and _ahhs_ at the appropriate times, and sighs sympathetically when she hears that Kyungsoo was left alone as a child.  
  
“I was not alone; I had my mother dragon.” Kyungsoo interjects, “I was not alone.” He repeats, more forcefully this time.  
  
“Even so, I’m glad that you are here now.” She says, “it is good that you are with your own kind. It would be sad if you grew up not knowing that part of you.”  
  
“I’m glad you’re here too.” Jongin says.  
  
“I hope you know that you are welcome to stay here as long as you would like.” Jongin’s father says, his gravelly voice making him sound more serious than he really is. “But I’m sure Jongin already told you that.” His eyes sparkle with playful teasing, one eyebrow raised as he looks pointedly at their hands, which Jongin hadn’t even realised were linked again.  
  
“You two can share Jongin’s bedroom.” His mother chimes in, setting down her teacup. “But please, think about finding a place of your own before you do anything that might keep your parents awake, alright?”  
  
“Mum!” Jongin gasps, torn between telling her to stop it or simply covering Kyungsoo’s ears.  
  
“What?” She asks, “Your room is right next to ours. I don’t fancy having to wear earplugs to get to sleep.”  
  
“Alright, I think it’s time we started preparing dinner, don’t you?” Mortified, Jongin rushes to stop this conversation in its tracks; he and Kyungsoo haven’t talked about anything like that yet, and he really doesn’t want to begin in front of his parents.  
  
“Hm, I suppose it is getting late.” His father agrees, “what do you two boys want to eat?”  
  
“Kimchi jigae. Do you have the things for it?” Jongin asks, drooling at the thought.  
  
“I think so.” His mum says ponderously, already heading over to the kitchenette, “I bought some meat this morning, so you’re lucky.”  
  
“That _is_ good luck!” Jongin comments. “It’s almost like I planned it.” He jokes. His mother turns around and narrows her eyes at him.  
  
“I wouldn’t put it past you, you rascal.”  
  
  
Later, when they have finished eating, Jongin takes Kyungsoo to his bedroom, full of his old things and still just as messy as when he left it. He makes Kyungsoo wait outside for a few minutes while he speed cleans the floor, shoving some old clothes into his chest of drawers. Jongin’s bedroom is fashionably sparse, and not very big. If he stretches out his arms, he can almost touch each wall widthways.  
  
“Ok, you can come in now!” He calls out, when there’s nothing left to clean. Kyungsoo slides the door open, looking around curiously. Suddenly remembering his bag, Jongin pulls out the shiny shell and the quartz veined rock that Kyungsoo gave him, and places them on top of his chest of drawers. They accompany a selection scales that fell from Feiwol’s back, and a tiny mother of pearl inlaid hand mirror, which had been given to him by his grandparents when he was born.  
  
All his keepsakes together, Jongin sits back and stares at them, smiling at the memories they bring. He glances towards Kyungsoo, wondering if he’s disappointed. There’s not much here after all.  
  
“This is where you sleep?” Kyungsoo asks, his open palm on the hard floor. Jongin nods.  
  
“Yes, but-” He gets up on his knees, opening a concealed cupboard in the wall and pulling out his bedding. Relieved, Kyungsoo helps him to lay it out on the floor, along with the small pillows. They smell a little musty, but after shaking them out, it’s not so bad.  
  
“This is better.” Kyungsoo says, thinking back to the night at the inn- the innkeeper had already laid out the bedding for them when they entered, so it was comfortable for them.  
  
“Were you thinking we’d have to sleep on the floor?” Jongin laughs, “I know; it’s not as nice as your island, but I wouldn’t make you sleep on bare floorboards.”  
  
“Good. Otherwise I would find somewhere better.” Kyungsoo teases. He tugs at the hem of his sweater, uncomfortable in the warmth.  
  
“You can take that off now, if you like.”Jongin murmurs. Kyungsoo wastes no time doing just that, tossing it to the side carelessly. Jongin purses his lips, because that had not exactly been cheap, but he lets it slide when Kyungsoo curls into his side, content.  
  
Tomorrow they will have to go to the guild headquarters, to report back everything that he’s found, and it’s not something Jongin is exactly looking forward to, but at the same time he isn’t dreading it either. After that’s done with, maybe he can take Kyungsoo to the library. So they can make a start on finding out more about his family.  
  
“I have a question.” Kyungsoo begins, interrupting his train of thought. Jongin hums, to show that he’s heard him, and looks down at the tops of Kyungsoo’s head. “What did your parents mean earlier, about finding somewhere new? Do they not want to live with you, now that I’m here?”  
  
“Oh! No, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s just.” Jongin clears his throat, trying not to blush. “Well.”  
  
“What?” Kyungsoo angles his head upwards.  
  
“Sex. They want us to find a new place before we have sex, so we don’t bother them.”  
  
“What is ‘sex’?” Kyungsoo asks innocently, but the mischievous glee in his eyes tell a different story. Jongin scowls, slapping his arm lightly.  
  
“You know what sex is, Kyungsoo. Don’t make me explain it.” Kyungsoo barks out a laugh, the sound pleasant to Jongin’s ears.  
  
“Of course I know!” He says between giggles, “I don’t understand why it’s a bother, though.” _Of course_ , Jongin thinks, his parents were studying breeding habits, why would it be something to shy away from? And dragons aren’t bother by it either. Jongin had fretted about it before, when he really hadn’t needed to. Now he feels stupid.  
  
“Oh, it’s because they don’t want to hear the noises- with people, it’s different than dragons. It’s something to keep private. I’m not sure why, exactly, but that’s the way it is.”  
  
“Huh.” Kyungsoo sighs speculatively, drawing a ticklish pattern around Jongin’s belly button. “So before we do that, we have to find somewhere else to live?”  
  
“Not necessarily.” Jongin says, breathing picking up as Kyungsoo’s fingers trail lower. “We just have to be quiet.”  
  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t let go of Jongin's hand for the entire walk to the guild headquarters. Jongin doesn’t blame him at all- even he is a little jumpy at some of the loud noises. Kyungsoo’s mouth falls open at the business of it all, the people coming and going, the music pouring out into the streets. Jongin doesn’t think Kyungsoo has been able to close his mouth for more than a few seconds at a time since they started walking. The city centre is much more lively than the outskirts of the city, where he lives with his parents.  
  
The Map Makers’ Guild is one of the more impressive buildings in the city centre, it’s red roofs curling up towards the sky in layers like petals of a flower. Jongin has always loved this place; it’s the best guild headquarters in the world, in his humble opinion. The interior is just as beautiful as the exterior, decorated with old maps and expert paintings of far off lands, and famous explorers.  
  
To the man behind the desk, all he has to do is introduce himself before he’s scrambling to find someone to take him upstairs, to talk to the chairwoman. Even though he had expected a little bit of a kerfuffle on his return, Jongin is surprised at his reception. He’s only met the chairwoman a few times, once at his initiation ceremony, and a few times after that for other people’s initiation ceremonies.  
  
Two young girls, who clearly do clerical work judging by their neat hairstyles, lead them both up a few flights of stairs to the chairwoman’s office, the giant doors decorated with huge stylised lotus flowers. One girl knocks on the door.  
  
“Come in.” Is heard from somewhere inside. Kyungsoo’s nails are digging painfully into his palm now, so Jongin squeezes back comfortingly.  
  
The two girls work in unison to push the doors open for him and Kyungsoo to go inside, and let them fall shut behind them. The chairwoman, Oh Suhye, a direct descendent of the original map maker, Oh Hyungwon, is a regally dressed woman with tired eyes.  
  
“Good afternoon, Kim Jongin. Take a seat, both of you.” She gestures to the chairs in front of her desk. “It’s nice to see you after all this time. Some people were convinced that you weren’t coming back, but I had faith in you. I’m glad that it wasn’t unfounded.”  
  
Jongin and Kyungsoo sit opposite her, hands still linked together. Oh Suhye links her fingers together, and rests her chin on the bridge she has formed.  
  
“So, what took you so long to get back here? And who is this you have brought with you?” She asks, getting straight to the point.  
  
Jongin clears his throat. “When I was on a routine mission, a storm larger than any I’ve ever seen blew me miles off course. I lost my compass during the storm, and didn’t know which way to go, so I flew in a random direction, hoping to come across land. I did. That’s where I met Kyungsoo.”  
  
“Kyungsoo?” The chairwoman tilts her head at his name, but doesn’t interrupt further.  
  
“Mhm. He was raised by dragons.” He says, rushing to explain further when she sits back in her plush red chair, “he went to this island when he was young, with his parents and his sister, but- Kyungsoo, do you want to tell her?” Kyungsoo shakes his head, mouth pulled into harsh line. Jongin is nervous too, in front of his boss, but he swallows and carries on with the story.  
  
“Ok, well, he went to an island with his parents, who were studying dragon breeding habits, but they died when he was very young. He was looked after by the dragons his parents had been studying. Look; I have some drawings of Kyungsoo from when we were there.” He pulls out his sketchbook, and lays it on the chairwoman’s desk. It looks a bit tatty on top of her pristine papers, but she picks it up reverently, opening it to the first page.  
  
“The drawings of Kyungsoo start a little later on.” Jongin quietly informs her. She flips ahead a few pages, pausing momentarily on a sketch of a tree from the first time he landed. The very first drawing of Kyungsoo is simple, and captures his essence, rather than the details. It is of him, crouched, leaning closer to Jongin in curiosity.  
  
More of Kyungsoo climbing things, and interacting with the dragons, both young and old. The later images become more and more intricate, as he got to know Kyungsoo better. It’s almost like a diary of how he fell for him, Jongin thinks, flushing. He wonders if the others can sense the love that he unconsciously poured onto the pages.  
  
“Fascinating. And his name is Kyungsoo?” The chairwoman confirms, looking the man up and down. Jongin nods, wondering why she seems so interested in his name rather than the story itself, or Kyungsoo's learned reptilian behaviour.  
  
“Yes, that is my name.” Kyungsoo confirms, hands clenched into fists on his lap. Oh Suhye shuts the book and hands it back to Jongin.  
  
“Well, that is very curious. I think I may be able to shed some light on your situation, if you are willing to wait for just a little while.” She pulls a cord behind her, no doubt connected to a bell somewhere downstairs, to call an employee in.  
  
“Huh?” Jongin’s eyebrows draw together in a sharp line- he looks across to Kyungsoo, whose expression matches how he feels right now. What does she mean by ‘shed some light’? Does she know what happened? Jongin knew that there were covert operations happening behind closed doors, but he hadn’t stopped to think that Kyungsoo’s history might be part of one.  
  
The large doors open once more, and the same meek girl who led them here peeks through.  
  
“Yes, ma’am?” She asks, fingers curling timidly around the edge of the door.  
  
“Please find me the Do family files, from the classified section of the library. Thank you, Seulgi.”  
  
“Yes, ma’am.” She bows her head and scurries off to find what the chairwoman has asked for. Jongin swivels around again, mouth hanging open.  
  
“The Do family? You know who Kyungsoo’s parents were?!”  
  
“I think I may well know them. Or _knew_ them. They were sent far south, to an island with no name and no place on any maps, in order to carry out research on dragon mating habits, as you remember Kyungsoo, with minimal interference. We wanted to understand how dragons behave in natural habitats, without people present. It was working, and the research was coming along well. Then we stopped hearing from them after a few years, so we feared the worst.”  
  
Kyungsoo is frozen, rooted to his seat. Jongin reaches his hand across the small gap, resting his open palm on his thigh. He twitches, and faces Jongin like he had almost forgotten he was there at all. Jongin smiles jubilantly at him, trying to convey everything he’s feeling in that one expression.  
  
They can find out more about Kyungsoo’s family!  
  
One of the main reasons Kyungsoo came with him to start with. Do they have pictures of Kyungsoo’s parents and sister? Jongin hadn’t expected it to be this easy: he had predicted hours of searching through files in the library, searching for names of outward expeditions. Although it would have been to no avail, since the information isn’t available to the general public.  
  
“I met you once, when you were very small.” Suhye carries on, as if oblivious to Kyungsoo’s distress. “It is nice to see you again, after all these years. All grown up. You resemble your mother, more than your father, but you have his mouth, I think.”  
  
“Did- did you know my parents well?” Kyungsoo asks, breathless.  
  
“I did, yes.” She sighs, “I knew them very well. We were close friends. They were very kind people, brilliant when handling dragons- no one had ever seen people talk to dragons the way they did. You and your sister were so young, you were only a baby when they left.”  
  
At this point there are tears brimming in Kyungsoo’s eyes. All those years without his parents there to help him- Jongin can hardly fathom how he must be feeling right now, with the memory of his family just within his grasp.  
  
A knock on the door resounds in the room, and everyone’s heads turn towards the sound, just in time to see the door open again. The clerical staff, Seulgi, steps inside, bearing a folder. She places it on the desk, on top of all of the other papers.  
  
“Ah, thank you, Seulgi.” Oh Suhye says, bowing her head politely, even as Seulgi bows at the waist. Jongin wonders if the reason the girl is so timid is because that’s just her personality, or if the chairwoman is usually scary.  
  
“Here we are,” she says, pulling the folder open to the first page, with drawings of the people involved in the mission. “This is your mother and father, here.”  
  
Kyungsoo’s eyes are wide open, and he’s shaking.  
  
“Are you alright?” Jongin whispers. This is all happening so fast. Kyungsoo nods, and holds out his hands for the pictures. Oh Suhye hands it over immediately, and Kyungsoo’s fingers trace the images. He doesn’t say anything for a while, and Jongin doesn’t want to ruin the moment for him, so he doesn’t say anything either. He just stares at the picture of his parents in sad silence.  
  
“Jongin, can you read this for me?” Kyungsoo eventually pleads, turning it to face him. Jongin hadn’t gotten around to teaching him to read yet.  
  
“Of course.” He takes the paper and squints at the handwritten names beneath the pictures. “Your parents were called Do Kwangseok and Do Sunwoo. And your sister was called Mina.” Jongin’s heart twists inside of him, having to read these names. It’s difficult to reconcile these smiling happy photos with the skeletal remains on Kyungsoo’s island.  
  
Tears trail over Kyungsoo’s cheeks. Jongin almost drops the paper in his haste to wipe them away.  
  
“Maybe we should stop, for now.” He says, pulling Kyungsoo in to rest his head on Jongin’s shoulder. Kyungsoo turns his face so that he’s hidden in the crook of Jongin’s neck, sobbing quietly. He hadn’t had any kind of mental preparation before this bombshell was dropped on him, and he deserves better than this. “Can we take this with us?”  
  
“You are welcome to them.” Oh Suhye says, looking at Kyungsoo with concern.  
  
“Thank you.” Jongin says, rubbing Kyungsoo’s back up and down. The chairwoman puts the papers back into the folder for them, and Jongin takes them from her with one hand, the other still holding Kyungsoo close.  
  
“One more thing before you leave,” Oh Suhye says, “Please don’t tell anyone about the island. It’s stayed more or less secret for the last twenty years.”  
  
“I already told my parents, and a few scouts.” Jongin says, suddenly worried about that too. He had sort of told Baekhyun, which means that by now everyone will know.  
  
“Alright. It can’t be helped. As long as you make sure they know that they shouldn’t fly there; for the sake of not disturbing the dragons.”  
  
“I’ll make sure everyone knows.” He promises, wanting to hurry up so he can get Kyungsoo home. “Thank you for your time, and for the file.”  
  
“You’re welcome, Jongin. I hope the next time we meet, we can talk about your parents, Kyungsoo. I’ll answer any questions you have, to the best of my ability.” She says softly. Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, but Jongin speaks in his place.  
  
“That would be wonderful.” Jongin bows his head and guides Kyungsoo, still sniffling, out of the room. He needs to take care of him right now, that’s more important than anything else. They can come back another day to find out more.  
  
The clerical employee watches as the go past with mouse-like curiosity, so Jongin shields Kyungsoo from her nosiness, putting himself between them. It hurts to see him cry, even if it’s for a happy reason.  
  
“Hey, Kyungsoo? Do you want to go get bingsu? Or would you rather just go home, for now?”  
  
“Home, please.”  
  
  
No one is in when they reach home, Jongin’s parents both out at the market, or at work. They slip quietly into Jongin’s bedroom, rearrange the bedding to allow them to sit comfortably against the outer wall.  
  
Tired, Kyungsoo lets his head loll onto Jongin’s shoulder. The folder in Jongin’s hand feels like it weighs a ton. He sets it down on his lap, and leafs through it. There isn’t all that much information there, honestly, but what is missing from the mission brief can be found from Oh Suhye.  
  
Jongin feels like he’s been walked over by a dragon after that revelation, so he can hardly imagine how Kyungsoo must be feeling.  
  
“You want me to read some more of this for you?” Jongin asks, stroking his shoulder with his thumb.  
  
“Yes, please.” Kyungsoo croaks.  
  
“Ok, here goes.” Jongin flaps the first paper, with the pictures on, so it’s flat. “It says here that your parents, Do Kwangseok and Sunwoo, actually volunteered to the role they took on. Their goal was to monitor dragon breeding habits, and migratory patterns related to that, for an indefinite amount of time. So they didn’t have a plan of how long they would be there.” He scans further down the page, “they had a system in place to send messages back, so people knew what they were up to- maybe we should see if they still have some of those?”  
  
“Yes. Another day.” Kyungsoo murmurs. Jongin still can’t believe that they came from the same Guild as Jongin- it’s surreal to think that they had probably sat in that same room before they left on their mission.  
  
“Of course, we can give it some time to sink in.”  
  
“What else is there?”  
  
“The second page is just a list of things they took with them, like rice- that was a _lot_ of rice, wow- and seeds, timber- to build the house with, maybe?- and blankets and things. Oh, and paper and ink, that kind of thing.”  
  
He trails off, realising that the amount of information on here really _is_ sparse, but they have several ways of finding out more. It’s not such a totally lost part of Kyungsoo’s life after all.  
  
Oh Suhye, though, she had seemed very interested in Kyungsoo. Maybe she will ask to ‘talk’ to him, with other researchers with her, taking note of everything he says. Jongin doesn’t want Kyungsoo to become a test subject, so he will have to set some limits when it comes to that. A couple of interviews about his childhood, maybe, then they have to leave him alone. He doesn’t want them to be following him around for the rest of his life, being scrutinised at every step he takes, every decision he makes.  
  
Jongin sighs. Kyungsoo is a free spirited person, used to climbing and running around. There isn’t really much space to do that in the city, though, not without making other people angry. Not for the first time, Jongin questions the decision to bring him home. He hopes he doesn’t become depressed here. Kyungsoo picks up the pictures of his parents again, staring at them intently, as if to imprint the image onto his brain. It’s a shame that there are none of him, or his sister on there, but they had been very young at the time.  
  
“Thank you.” Kyungsoo says, breaking the silence.  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Thank you, for bringing me here.” He repeats, “If you hadn’t come and found me, and brought me here, I would never know about my family. So thank you.”  
  
“You’re welcome.” Jongin’s heart swells, “I would have regretted leaving you behind for the rest of my life, I can’t believe how close it almost came to that.” He says, thinking back to the night he tried to run away.”  
  
“Don’t think about that.” Kyungsoo scolds, shifting so that he’s half sat on Jongin’s lap, looking down at him with a grin, even though his eyes are still a little red. “Just think about how happy you are with me here. Like _I_ do.”  
  
“I do!” Jongin beams back, reaching up to cup his cheek. Kyungsoo leans into the touch “I think about it all the time- along with ‘I love you’.”  
  
Kyungsoo laughs, leaning down to kiss his forehead, then his lips.  
  
And honestly, just knowing that Kyungsoo is happy is enough for Jongin. The future is uncertain, and it always will be, but as long as he and Kyungsoo are together, trying their best, he knows that it will all work out.  
  
“I love you.” Kyungsoo whispers, his lips moving delicately against Jongin’s skin. “I love you so much.”  
  
“I love _you_ too."


End file.
